Mark Jackson (footballer, born 1977)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Graham Jackson | ||
| Date of birth | 30 September 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Leeds, England | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Buriram United (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1995 | Leeds United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2000 | Leeds United | 19 | (0) |
| 1998 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Barnsley (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2000–2005 | Scunthorpe United | 136 | (4) |
| 2005–2006 | Kidderminster Harriers | 39 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | Rochdale | 24 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Farsley Celtic | 31 | (1) |
| 2010–2015 | Farsley | ||
| International career | |||
| 1997 | England U20 | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010–2014 | Farsley (youth coach) | ||
| 2015 | Bradford City (youth coach) | ||
| 2015–2016 | Leeds United (youth coach) | ||
| 2016–2020 | Leeds United U18 | ||
| 2020–2022 | Leeds United U23 | ||
| 2022 | Leeds United (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Milton Keynes Dons | ||
| 2023–2025 | Central Coast Mariners | ||
| 2025– | Buriram United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mark Graham Jackson (born 30 September 1977) is an English football manager and former player who is the head coach of Thai League 1 club Buriram United.
A former defender, he notably played for Scunthorpe United. At international level, he made four appearances for the England U20 national team.
As a player Jackson started his career at Leeds United. He turned professional in July 1995 and soon earned a Premiership debut. He last played for reformed Farsley, after his last club Farsley Celtic was wound-up by its administrators on 12 March 2010.
Managerial career
Leeds United
On 10 November 2015, Jackson rejoined his hometown club Leeds United as the under 15/16s coach, rejoining his then former Leeds academy manager Paul Hart at the club.[1]
On 24 June 2016, Jackson was promoted to under-18s co-manager alongside Andy Gray as part of Leeds' academy structure before taking the helm as the sole manager for the 2017–18 season.[2]
In April 2018, his Leeds under-18 side finished the 2017–18 season in first place, thus winning the Professional Development Northern League title.[3]
On 14 September 2020, he was promoted to under-23s head coach, replacing Carlos Corberan who had left the role in the summer to take up a position as head coach at Huddersfield Town.[4]
In May 2021, his under-23s team won the Premier League 2 Division 2, earning promotion to Division 1, in both his first season managing this age group and the team's first season of playing in that division. The team remained unbeaten at home throughout the entire season.[5]
On 3 March 2022, Jackson was promoted to first team coach under new Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch.[6]
Milton Keynes Dons
On 23 December 2022, Jackson was appointed head coach of League One club Milton Keynes Dons.[7] At the time of his appointment, the club were sitting in 22nd position, three points from safety. His first game in charge came three days later where his side won 1–0, a first home league win for the Dons in over four months.
On 9 May 2023, Jackson was sacked by MK Dons after relegation to League Two, having registered six wins in 25 games.[8]
Central Coast Mariners
On 27 September 2023, Jackson was announced as the new coach of reigning A-League champions, Central Coast Mariners, ahead of their title defence.[9] In his first season at the helm, Jackson won the 2023-24 AFC Cup and 2023–24 A-League premiership for finishing top of the table during the regular season.[10][11]
On 25 May 2024, Jackson's squad defeated Melbourne Victory 3–1 at extra time in the 2024 A-League Men Grand Final to become back-to-back champions.[12] Before the game, Jackson was also awarded the Isuzu UTE A-League Coach of the Year award.[13]
Jackson's second season in charge of the Mariners was more of a struggle, as Jackson was faced with a significant reduction of funding for the club. The team finished 10th out of 13 teams in the 2024-25 season. Jackson departed the Mariners before the beginning of the 2025-26 season, to pursue an overseas coaching opportunity.[14]
Buriram United
In October 2025, Jackson was appointed manager of reigning Thai League 1 Champions Buriram United.[15]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 29 April 2026
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Milton Keynes Dons |  |
23 December 2022 | 9 May 2023 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 24.00 | [16] |
| Central Coast Mariners |  |
27 September 2023 | 10 October 2025 | 88 | 35 | 22 | 31 | 143 | 110 | +33 | 39.77 | |
| Buriram United |  |
15 October 2025 | Present | 41 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 113 | 33 | +80 | 68.29 | |
| Total | 154 | 69 | 38 | 47 | 279 | 178 | +101 | 44.81 | ||||
