Mark Jackson: MK Dons appoint Leeds United first-team coach as new boss - BBC 23/12/22

MK Dons have named Leeds United coach Mark Jackson as their new boss.

The 45-year-old replaces Liam Manning, who was sacked on 11 December with the team next to bottom of League One.

His first game in charge will be at home to Forest Green Rovers on Boxing Day, followed by trips to Peterborough United and current leaders Plymouth.

"The identity of the club fits with me. They want to dominate the ball and I can continue that but enhance it as well," Jackson said.

"We've got a lot of things to do in a short space of time, we know we have to impact things on the pitch.

"I've got ideas of how to do that and how I can tweak certain things. If we can get little things right then we can start to make progress on the pitch," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

Of the past seven head coaches appointed by MK Dons, Jackson, who oversaw training on Friday, is the fourth to be given his first post in senior club management by them, following Karl Robinson (2010-2016), Dan Micciche (2018) and Russell Martin (2019-2021).

However, the length of his contract at Stadium: MK has not been disclosed.

The former Leeds and Scunthorpe United defender - who watched the Dons lose to Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday - was in charge of various age group sides at Elland Road before being promoted to first-team coach in March.

Speaking on Thursday, Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch said: "Jacko has been an absolute asset for me from the first day that I set foot into the building.

"He has done everything and more that I could have hoped, his passion, his commitment and his love of this club made him essential for me and for us in our quest to stay in the [Premier] league [last season]. I fully believe that without him we wouldn't have stayed in the league.

"I value him completely as a person and as a football mind."

Manning guided the Dons to a third-place finish and the League One play-offs last season after joining them from Belgian club Lommel in the summer of 2021, but they missed out on the chance of promotion after losing to Wycombe Wanderers over two legs.

The squad had to be rebuilt following a number of subsequent departures and they lost their first three league games of the season without scoring a goal.

Two wins in the next three pushed them up to 13th in the table by the end of August but they have been in the relegation places since a 2-1 defeat at Shrewsbury on 8 October.

"Whatever industry you're in it's about dealing with people and that's a big part of my leadership [style], I want to connect with people, I want to engage with people, I want to give people responsibility and ownership of what they do. I think I've got a skill-set that can do that," Jackson added.

"Ultimately, I'm judged on getting the team right but I see a process in that of developing each individual and making them better."

Owner Pete Winkelman had promised that the club would be "brave" in their search for a new head coach, which was led by sporting director Liam Sweeting.

Winkelman told BBC Three Counties Radio: "It's always a traumatic thing, changing a manager. I had huge respect for Liam Manning and what he achieved last year.

"But we need a new voice, we needed a leader, but we also needed to maintain the exceptionally unique style that we have as a football club - it's what sets us apart.

"That was a big part of the process. Mark manages to tick all of those boxes and I gave him the job straight away at the interview."

Winkelman added: "He's very pragmatic about what we've got to do in the here and now. He's got an idea of what he's going to do in the short term that will make us more difficult to beat and hopefully give us more opportunities to score. It's those marginal changes that could make the difference in our results."

As a player, Jackson was given his Leeds first-team debut by then boss Howard Wilkinson in a 10 Premier League home defeat by Middlesbrough in March 1996.

He made 23 appearances for his hometown club but spent most of his career at a lower level, principally with Scunthorpe, where he played almost 160 games between 2000 and 2005.

Even though it will be Jackson's first head coach position this seems a good fit in terms of the management/coaching structure at MK Dons.

The comments of Leeds boss Jesse Marsch were interesting, with the American believing Leeds would have been relegated last season without Jackson. That experience is certainly going to help him as he now fights relegation in League One.

The Dons are in the bottom four and have lost 13 of 21 League One games.

Jackson is likely to need reinforcements in the January transfer window and his knowledge of the top academy players in the country - having worked with Leeds Under-23s for two years - could prove to be very handy.