Dean Hammond

Dean Hammond joined Chris Agutter’s backroom team at Gander Green Lane in October 2025.

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, 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.

Hammond would end the season by being named as the club’s Player of the Season, having top scored with 11 goals, though he departed the AMEX on a permanent basis the following year in order to join Colchester United, leaving after ten years and almost 150 appearances to his name.

A season in Essex 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, and was a part of the Saints’ team that won the 2010 Football League Trophy over Carlisle United, before helping them win back-to-promotions back to the Premier League two seasons later.

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, and he 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, joining initially as a Technical Coach, before being appointed as Assistant Manager in the summer.