Woking confirmed the shock departure of Jermain Defoe as manager of Thursday, and now the club's director of football has said more on the former Premier League and England striker's departure

Woking director of football, Jody Brown, has defended the club's transfer policy after Jermain Defoe's shock departure as manager. The National League side announced on Thursday that they had parted ways with the Premier League legend, who said in a statement that it was 'impossible to continue'.

The 43-year-old was appointed at the end of March and guided Woking to a 10th-place finish in English football's fifth tier. The ex-England striker won two of his six games in charge and was expected to lead the Surrey club into the 2026-27 campaign.

Defoe took charge of two pre-season friendlies this summer, as Woking faced non-league side Sholing before taking on Portsmouth, one of his former clubs.

But Woking announced on Thursday evening that his tenure had come to an abrupt end. The club said: "Woking Football Club can confirm that the club and First Team Manager Jermain Defoe have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect.

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Jermain for his contribution during his time at Woking Football Club, and we wish him every success in the future. The club remains fully focused on delivering its objectives both on and off the pitch. We would like to thank our supporters for their continued support."

Now, the club's director of football, Brown, has defended himself after being criticised on X. When one account asked if Defoe was available for an exit interview to answer a few questions, a fan replied: "I can answer them for you if you like... our director of football thinks he runs the club, calls all the shots, chose all the triallists, none of which JD wanted, and is very tight with the owner. All of which led to empty promises."

Brown then replied to the supporter's post – alleging that Defoe "led all recruitment and all triallists". He claimed: "Of the vast number of triallists, I did not choose one. Not one.

"Jermain led all recruitment and all triallists. All Jermain’s contacts, all linked to him. Every single one. Empty promises? We gave everything that was asked. Everything. I’m sure it’ll all come out in due course."

Jermain Defoe has been approached by Mirror Football for comment.

Defoe’s Woking reign got underway with an entertaining 3-3 draw with Eastleigh before victories in two of the next five fixtures. He had been preparing them for their season opener against Sutton United.

But his shock exit means the Cards are now searching for his successor ahead of the National League campaign, which gets underway on August 8.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland marksman started his coaching career as Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Rangers five years ago. Defoe then headed back to Spurs to work with their youth teams before joining Woking.

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