Sutton United Football Club is delighted to confirm the appointment of Dean Hammond to the position of Assistant Manager.
Hammond joins from his role at Worthing, where he worked alongside Chris Agutter, and reunites with the Sutton Head Coach after he was announced as Steve Morison’s successor last week, having first linked up with him at Brighton & Hove Albion.
He is the latest addition to Agutter’s backroom team at Gander Green Lane which also includes First Team Coach and Analyst, Ben Cornelius, along with the existing Sean Miles (S&C Coach), Luke Silavwe (Head of Medical) and Cat Chambers (Sports Therapist).
The experienced former midfielder carved out a successful playing career, turning out primarily in the Championship for both Brighton and Southampton, and can claim a host of honours on his CV.
A product of the Brighton academy, Hammond originally joined the Seagulls at the age of 11 and progressed through the development squad, making his senior debut in the first round of the Southern Section of the Football League Trophy, in a 2–0 win over Cardiff City.
Hammond returned to the club’s reserve for the next two seasons before signing his first professional contract at the end of the 2001/02 season, and was promoted to the first team at the start of the following campaign, before gaining experience on loan with Aldershot Town and Leyton Orient.
He subsequently broke into the Brighton team during the 2004/05 season, and continued his rise into a fully-fledged member of the squad when he was named Club Captain in 2007, having initially being handed the captain’s armband on a temporary basis after injuries to both Richard Carpenter and Charlie Oatway.
The midfielder subsequently ended the season by being named as the club’s Player of the Season, having top scored with 11 goals in 39 games, but departed the AMEX on a permanent basis the following year in order to join Colchester United, then in the Championship, leaving after ten years and almost 150 appearances to his name.
After Brighton accepted an offer of £250,000 plus add-ons, Hammond made the switch to Essex midway through the 2007/08 campaign, and despite being unable to help the club avoid relegation, he continued to be a regular in the team during their return to League One.
His first and only full season at the JobServe Community Stadium saw him appear 43 times in all competitions, and after winning the club’s Player of the Year award and Gazette Player of the Year award, he returned to the South Coast with a move to Southampton.
He went on to spend a successful four years at St. Mary’s, being named club captain just a few months after joining when he succeeded Kelvin Davis, and was a part of the Saints’ team that won the 2010 Football League Trophy over Carlisle United in his first season. Hammond later helped them win back-to-promotions, seeing the Saints return to the Premier League after seven years away, making 84 appearances across the two seasons and played a key part in the club sealing successive second place finishes under Nigel Adkins.
A brief return to Brighton saw him spend the 2012/13 season back on loan at the AMEX, helping the Seagulls achieve a top six finish and a shot at promotion via the play-offs, where they ultimately fell short at the hands of rivals Crystal Palace, before making a permanent switch to Leicester City the following summer.
The Foxes went on to achieve promotion as champions in his maiden campaign, making it Hammond’s third promotion of his career, before an injury-hit season in the Premier League saw him appear just 12 times, though he featured twice during its business end as Leicester produced their famous Great Escape under Nigel Pearson. Cameos in wins over Newcastle United and Southampton saw him have a minor contribution to the Foxes’ survival, securing it with a point against Sunderland in the following game, despite the club being marooned at the bottom of the table for four-and-a-half months.
While Leicester remained in the top flight, Hammond later found first team opportunities limited under Claudio Ranieri due to the arrivals of Gökhan Inler and N’Golo Kanté, departing the King Power Stadium on loan ahead of the Foxes’ historic Premier League title-winning campaign.
Despite this, the midfielder enjoyed a successful season of his own at Sheffield United, having joined initially until January, before extending his move until the end of the season and later making the move permanent.
A return to Leicester came to fruition in the spring of 2017 though, with Hammond appearing as an over-age player for the Under-21’s and assisting with coaching, thus getting his coaching career off the mark.
He subsequently moved to Worthing in 2020, initially as a player, before returning to Woodside Road in a coaching capacity in 2024, as a Technical Coach, and later as Assistant Manager in the summer.
Hammond will now begin life at Sutton alongside Agutter, joining up with his new team after taking charge of Worthing’s defeat to Maidenhead United in the National League South on Saturday, before leading the team to a 7-0 victory over Jarvis Brook in the Second Round of the Sussex Senior Cup on Tuesday night.
Worthing had initially announced that the 42-year-old would take charge of their FA Cup Fourth Round Qualifying tie at home to Forest Green Rovers on Monday night, live on TNT Sports. However, the decision was made to allow him to leave ahead of schedule after he was shown a red card in the aftermath of last weekend’s defeat to Maidenhead, resulting in a touchline suspension for the FA Cup match.
On the appointment, Agutter said:
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with Deano.”
“He’s a brilliant, brilliant coach and an even better man – there’s not another two people that I’d want more alongside me on the journey ahead than Deano and BC [Ben Cornelius].’
‘Deano brings a wealth of experience which will help the team moving forwards; he’s been there and done it as a player and he’s determined to do the same as a coach and Assistant Manager.”
Welcome to Sutton, Dean!
