I don’t want a manager’s job because I am black...i want to prove I’m good

JERMAIN DEFOE made his Premier League debut as a teenager, is still in the competition’s all-time top 10 scorers, and played for England at a World Cup.

Now he has dreams of his next move, into management, but he wants it only on the basis he is good enough, not just because he is black.

The former West Ham and Tottenham striker understands that management is a ruthless business but says all he wants is a fair opportunity.

“I like to think doors are opening,” he says. “There’s been changes, there’s been managers recently who have had jobs and lost jobs, which is part and parcel. You’re never going to be a manager that never loses his job at some point.

“You’re going to get sacked, that’s just facts. Every manager gets sacked, it doesn’t matter how good you are. But I like to think that I will get a chance.

“I don’t think the numbers are great, in terms of black managers. There could be more, a lot more.

“When I’ve spoken to players that have finished playing, players that I’ve played with, and they’ve spoken about their journey and the struggles they’ve had, I start to think

Every manager gets sacked..but I would like to think I will get a chance

‘well, if you’ve had those struggles then I’m probably going to get the same struggles’.

“But I understand everyone’s journey is different, and I don’t want a job just because I’m black... you want a job because you’re good enough.

“The numbers could be better, everyone knows that, numbers don’t lie. But I like to think that at some stage I’ll get a chance.”

Defoe, who is the subject of a documentary coming to UK cinemas for one night only on February 29, knew he wanted to move into coaching after making the tough decision to hang up his boots.

If the chance comes to be a

The number of black managers is not great..there could be a lot more

manager, Defoe is sure it will be in large part due to the influences his own managers have had on him, especially Steven Gerrard at Rangers.

Defoe was briefly part of the management team at Ibrox when Gerrard (left) jumped ship for Aston Villa in 2021.

Now, as he takes the next steps on his own journey, he has nothing but praise for the man who gave him that first opening.

“We won the league, and I finished the season quite strong in terms of goals and stuff, and that next season I was offered the player-coach role,” Defoe says of his time at Rangers.

“At the time I still wanted to play.

“But when you’re that age, the way the game’s going, Stevie and the staff looked at it and they probably felt like at least they could give me a taste of what it was like to be a coach.

“Realistically I was only going to play for another year there, so they were trying to help me to make that transition into coaching.

“I had that experience of player-coach at Rangers, and when Stevie left I was part of the coaching staff for a game, which was good, just to get that experience of the other side – to see what it’s like in the coaches’ room and how they prepare, training sessions and build-up to games.”

■ Defoe will be available in UK Cinemas for One Night Only on February 29. Tickets are available at defoethefilm.co.uk