Troy Deeney ‘drafts in Jermain Defoe for coaching sessions at struggling Forest Green’ – after ex-Watford striker publicly slammed his players ‘as not good enough’ with Rovers bottom of League Two… but John Terry distances himself from leading any drills

According to reports, Troy Deeney has turned to Jermain Defoe in a bid to turn around Forest Green Rovers’ fortunes.

The former Watford striker is still searching for his first win as manager since replacing David Horseman at the helm of the League Two club in December, with three draws and three in his six games in charge.

Deeney, who arrived at Forest Green as player-coach in August, has made headlines for brutally calling out some of his players, describing them as ‘not good enough’.

And with his side bottom of the table and seven points adrift of safety, he has reportedly brought in Defoe to help his players.

According to The Telegraphthe former England striker will join Forest Green to deliver a defender session and a shooting clinic respectively.

Defoe will take charge of Forest Green attackers in an attacking clinic, according to Deeney’s plans

The Telegraph also reported that John Terry would help – something he denied when he posted on social media: ‘Seriously, where do they get these stories from! Absolute nonsense.’

Terry currently works as a coach at Chelsea’s academy and revealed in October that he had been overlooked for the role of Newcastle manager after leaving his role as assistant coach at Aston Villa in 2021.

Speaking about former teammate John Obi Mikel Obi One podcast, the former England captain revealed he had also spoken to three clubs further down the pyramid about a vacancy.

Defoe is currently in charge of the Tottenham Under-18 team and is also a club ambassador for Spurs.

Drafting the services of his fellow Premier League star is part of Deeney’s plans to raise the bar at the struggling League Two club.

Forest Green have not won in the league since October and have won just 19 of their previous 95 games in all competitions – with just two wins in 14 games under Horseman.

“I try to raise the bar everywhere,” Deeney, who made a total of 590 appearances for Watford, Walsall and Birmingham, told The Telegraph.

The Forest Green boss has also been in contact with Burnley manager Vincent Kompany and former Leicester City defender Robert Huth – now the Foxes’ loan manager – as he looks to overhaul his squad in January.

“We’ve got some new guys in,” he said.

Terry has dismissed reports that he will also help the League Two side with a session

Terry (left) currently works as a coach at the Chelsea academy

Forest Green are bottom of League Two and have been winless since October

‘More will come and go in the coming weeks. If you want to stay, you have to do your best.’

Earlier this month, Deeney was thrust into the spotlight for questioning the abilities of his players and those of their replacements in a brutally honest post-match interview.

In a four-minute clip shared on the club’s official X account that has racked up more than six million views, he dissected his players’ shortcomings with surgical precision.

“By the way, I’m standing here defeated beyond any imagination,” he said after Forest Green were awarded a last-minute penalty to draw 2-2 at Salford on January 6.

‘It’s just that the same mistakes are made over and over again. You change managers (rider) because it’s partly the manager’s fault.

“But it’s the players, mate. It’s not good enough.’

Instead of softening his criticism, the former Watford striker doubled down on his position.

“They (the players) are not good enough to be calm and collected in those moments,” he said.

‘It’s really poor. Fundamentally, we need to get better at winning positions. We tried to train it, we tried to coach it, but now we have to replace it.”