Ex-Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe had contemplated giving up on his managerial dream, but remains determined to follow in the footsteps of Chris Hughton and become a trailblazer for black coaches.
Former England international Defoe called time on his distinguished playing career in 2022 and has spent the past 18 months coaching in the Spurs academy.
Defoe is well aware of potential hurdles and the low number of black and ethnic minority managers in English football, which has been further hit by the January sackings of Darren Moore and Troy Deeney by Huddersfield and Forest Green respectively.
Deeney’s maiden managerial tenure lasted 29 days but Defoe will draw inspiration from Hughton’s three decades as a coach when he does eventually take his first steps into the dugout.
“For me going into management and hopefully getting an opportunity, it can show the next generation that if you do want to become a coach, look I’ve done it,” Defoe told the PA news agency.
“I look at someone like Chris Hughton, who has had a long career in the game. I was with Chris at Tottenham when he was assistant and he’s managed Newcastle and Brighton, big clubs.
“He’s had a fantastic career so I look at that and I know there has not been many. Troy Deeney recently lost his job, Darren Moore too and Patrick Vieira was obviously at Palace.
“At one point I did think, ‘what is the point of going into it? Am I going to get an opportunity’?
“Because there are people I speak to with fantastic careers, icons of the game that I looked up to but these ex-players talk about not getting an interview or a call back.
“You do think about it but I just love football.
“For my journey, with what I am doing at Spurs, the badges I have got, I would like to believe I will get an opportunity.
“I don’t want a job because I am black and it ticks boxes, I want to get a job because I am good enough and I’ve done the hard work I needed to do.
“I am more than confident that when the opportunity comes, I will do well.”
Defoe, who was at St George’s Park last week for the launch of McDonald’s Fun Football free grassroots football coaching development and education programme, enjoyed an excellent first season as a coach at Tottenham.
He played his part as Stuart Lewis’ Under-18s claimed success in two Premier League Cup competitions, while this term they have reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals and Jamie Donley and Alfie Dorrington have been promoted into Ange Postecoglou’s first team.
“It is an exciting group. Last year was brilliant when we won two trophies,” Defoe admitted.
“We have some really exciting players and I would love to see them go on and have a career in the game.”
Defoe’s current focus is helping Spurs’ academy stars, but he has received interest from clubs over his managerial ambitions and already knows the make-up of his coaching staff when he does ultimately become a head coach.
The 20-goal England striker has also regularly watched back clips of Tottenham first-team training and praised Postecoglou for getting the club buzzing again.
Defoe added: “I’ve been at the club a long time now. Nine years as a player, second year as a coach, so I know what it feels like when the place is buzzing and the stadium is rocking at the minute.
“Of course the results are the most important thing, but the performances and how the team is playing under Ange, it has been fantastic.”
:: Jermain Defoe was supporting McDonald’s Fun Football’s new coaching qualification in partnership with Kick it Out, British Blind Sport, and England Futsal to make Fun Football the most inclusive grassroots programme in the UK. Register for your local session here – mcdonalds.co.uk/football
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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