COAST OFFICE
Axed by Dons... but Jackson’s riding high with the Mariners Down Under
EXCLUSIVE BY
EYEBROWS were raised when A-League champions Central Coast Mariners turned to Mark Jackson after Nick Montgomery quit for Hibernian last September.
Former Sheffield United midfielder Montgomery led the New South Wales side to a stunning 6-1 Grand Final win (celebrating, below) against Melbourne City with the youngest team and smallest budget in the competition.
Jackson, meanwhile, was sacked by MK Dons following their relegation from League One last season but landed the Mariners job and headed Down Under.
Significantly, the ex-Leeds and Scunthorpe defender has steered the Mariners to second place in the ALeague and they have lost just one of their last 15 games in all competitions. They are three points off the top with a game in hand on Wellington Phoenix, their opponents on April 6.
The 46-year-old, who last week was named A-League manager of the month for the third successive time, said: “Losing your job is a very difficult time for anyone and I had to do a lot of reflecting after leaving MK Dons.
“It knocked my confidence a little bit, but not my ambition of what I still wanted to achieve as a manager and getting to the highest level.
“Moving to the Central Coast was a massive decision from a family perspective, if not necessarily from a footballing one.
“The success and exposure the Mariners had last season, winning the Grand Final under Monty, meant it was a coveted job.
“I flew out here on my son’s birthday on September 24 – by myself, knowing my family weren’t coming out until January, and that’s when it became real.
“It didn’t take me long to realise that this was the right move for us as a family and me as a manager.”
Jackson, whose family joined him last month, carved out an impressive coaching reputation in the vaunted Leeds academy, nurturing talents such as Archie Gray, Charlie Cresswell and Crysencio Summerville.
He said of rising 17-year-old star Gray, who scored on his England Under-21 debut last week: “Archie’s a phenomenal talent and can go as far as he wants. I’ll be watching from afar.”
Jackson (rght) was promoted to Leeds’ first-team coaching staff under Jesse Marsch before taking the MK Dons post.
Leeds-born Jackson said: “I had the challenge of fighting relegation at MK Dons and the challenge here at Central Coast is one of expectation given what happened last season.
“I know which I’d prefer and the Mariners hierarchy knew it would be about rebuilding after losing five first-team players at the end of last season.
“But in life I always see things as an opportunity. Our stadium is right next to the beach – it’s an amazing part of the world.”
There are plenty of Leeds links at the Mariners, who are based in Gosford, north of Sydney. Jackson’s assistant Danny Schofield and analyst Andres Clavijo previously worked at Leeds and striker Ryan Edmondson came though the youth system.
As Central Coast bid to retain their title, Jackson added: “Our target is a top-six finish and then, in the play-offs, as the lads showed last season by reaching the Grand Final and winning it, anything can happen.”
The sack at MK Dons knocked my confidence but not my ambition