NreleWgation MENTOR TO ME – DEFOE
JERMAIN DEFOE admits he has been left devastated by the death of mentor Glenn Roeder.
And the Rangers ace has revealed how big an influence he was in the striker starring for West Ham as well as England.
Ex-Hammers and Newcastle boss Roeder died on Sunday aged 65 after a long battle with a brain tumour.
Defoe, 38, said: “It is sad news for everyone who knows Glenn. Condolences to his family.
“With Glenn at West Ham all the way through after I signed when I was 16, I had a really good relationship with him as he was like a mentor to the younger players.
“We used to call him, ‘Glenn the step over’. The way he used to walk with his feet, he used to do these unbelievable step overs in training.
“When I heard the news I was devastated because when he became manager in my first full season in the Premier League, he’s the one who gave me my chance to play.”
Defoe was kept in check by Roeder in his role as an Irons coach under Harry Redknapp.
His advice was crucial as the striker racked up 57 caps and 20 goals for England. Defoe, on talkSPORT, said: “I can imagine all the boys from the academy will be phoning me because we all loved Glenn. You had Harry as the manager, Frank Lampard senior and Glenn was the mentor to all the younger lads.
“When he was the manager, one day he pulled me into his office.
“I wanted to play every game, I was really young.
“He said, ‘Just relax. You’re young, you’ve got your whole career ahead of you. You’ll play for England. You will have loads of caps, you’ve got nothing to worry about.’
“I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Jermain, you will play many games for England, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Just chill out, trust me and let me guide you.’
“I listened to him and, lucky enough, he was right. It’s such sad news.”