Jermain Defoe, the former England striker, has been handed his first senior managerial role in charge of National League club Woking.
The 43-year-old, who had a distinguished playing career for sides including West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur (over three different spells), Sunderland (twice) and MLS outfit Toronto FC, has experience working in the academy structure at Spurs and as a player-coach for another of his former clubs, Rangers.
Woking are 11th in the National League – the first division below the English Football League – and Defoe’s first game in charge will be the home visit of Eastleigh on Good Friday.
The club dismissed former manager Neal Ardley on March 1 after a poor run of form which saw them slip out of playoff contention and lose in the FA Trophy quarter-final.
Woking chairman Todd Johnson said: “Jermain’s achievements as a player speak for themselves, but what stood out to us during the process was how he sees the game, how he drives standards, and his approach to leadership and player development.
“We have a clear plan for where we want to go as a club, and we believe Jermain is the right person to build on the strong foundations already in place and help take us forward in the next phase of that journey.”
Defoe won 57 caps for England, scoring 20 goals, and was part of the squads at the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship.
He is 10th in the list of all-time Premier League top scorers, with 162 goals from 496 appearances for West Ham, Spurs, Portsmouth and Sunderland.
Woking’s interim coaching team of Craig Ross, Jake Hyde and Dale Gorman will take charge of the team for Tuesday night’s fixture against Altrincham.
Defoe will be assisted at the Surrey club by Paul Bracewell, who won the league title as a player with Everton in 1985, with Ross and Hyde to be on his coaching staff.