Former West Ham Sunderland and Tottenham star 'ready' to take next football step after Rangers opportunity

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image

The former West Ham and Sunderland star has Tottenham and Rangers experience on his coaching CV.

Jermain Defoe says he’s ready for first team management after starting his badges at Rangers, and leaving Tottenham.

The ex-striker who counts both clubs, West Ham, Sunderland and more amongst his previous clubs is embarking upon a coaching journey. Starting his B-licence at Rangers proved a learning curve before finishing his badges with Spurs, who he worked with as a youth coach.

Advertisement

Hide Ad

Advertisement

Hide Ad

Sign up to our GlasgowWorld Today newsletter

Sign up

Thank you for signing up!

Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to GlasgowWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.

Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later.

Submitting...

Now after leaving the Premier League side, Defoe has explained his next ambitions to Sky Sports. The former West Ham and Sunderland star insists he wants a chance to be a leading man as he paid thanks to Spurs and Rangers for a starting platform. He said: “I was at Rangers and I finished there and I knew that opportunity at Tottenham was waiting for me, so I was grateful for that.

“I was just using that to complete my badges because at Rangers I started my B-licence and I wanted to complete that at Tottenham. I was just grateful I got that opportunity. I just feel at this moment in time now I feel like I’m ready for a first-team environment.

“I did two years there at the academy and it was really good, some great young players. I worked with some great coaches, Bradley Allen, Paul Bracewell, Nigel Gibbs, Wayne Burnett. For me it was good to get that exposure but I feel like right now I’m ready for a first-team environment.

“I think when you have gone to an experienced place like Tottenham and worked with some experienced coaches like I’ve just mentioned, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do anyway. At the back end of my career I always wanted to go into management and do my badges and see where it takes me.

Advertisement

Hide Ad

Advertisement

Hide Ad

“I think you just have to weigh it all up really. I’ve always wanted to be a number one, that’s sort of the main objective. I suppose in football you never know what is around the corner. If there was an opportunity there to be an assistant somewhere just to sort of learn and help my development as a coach then so be it. I think the main goal for me is to become a number one and become a manager somewhere.

“You never know with football. It depends on the opportunity. When you talk about levels I mean everyone’s journey is different. I’ve obviously played with Steven Gerrard and he managed me at Rangers. When I spoke to Stevie about his journey, he was under-18s coach at Liverpool and then got the opportunity to go to Rangers. It has to be the right environment of course and the right club for me.”

Source