Jackson: eve of season Central Coast exit “the right time for me to go”
Mark Jackson says that his decision to quit as coach of the Central Coast on the eve of the A-League Men season came at “the right time for me to go”.
Back in Australia at the helm of Thai powers Buriram United, Mark Jackson says that his decision to quit as coach of the Central Coast on the eve of the A-League Men season came at “the right time for me to go.”
Jackson, 48, sent a shockwave through the league when he departed Gosford just nine days out from the Mariners’ opening game of the 2025-26 campaign to take up the head coaching position at Buriram.
Reports from News Corp had claimed that Jackson, alongside Mariners’ sporting director Matt Simon, had been engaged in a “power struggle” with Sydney Olympic coach Labinot Haliti, who the reports said had been inserted into a football director-like role by Olympic president Damon Hanlin.
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The reports, which Mariners chief executive Greg Brownlow has denied, claim that Hanlin has stepped in to fund the Mariners as incumbent owner Mike Charlesworth, who himself only took back stewardship of the club last October after Richard Piel quit as chairman, seeks to divest.
Returning to Australia to lead his new side into an Asian Champions League Elite meeting with Melbourne City on Tuesday evening, Jackson was coy when asked if he’d been forced out of the Mariners, but did say that “everything pointed toward” his move to leave being the right one.
“I enjoyed my time there,” Jackson said. “It’s a club that I hold dear to my heart. I had a fantastic two years there.
“I felt it was the right time for me to go. Everything pointed towards that. Although it was difficult, everything pointed toward another challenge.
“It was more about the challenge that awaited me [at Buriram]. Working with a club of such stature, a squad of really, really high quality, and that kind of really enticed me into making a decision.
“There was challenges preseason [with the Mariners], but I want to focus on what we’re doing here now; the work I want to do with the players. It’s exciting for me personally, and I want it to be exciting for the players as well, to move forward and attack this Champions League.”
Under the stewardship of interim boss Warren Moon, the Mariners shook off the uncertainty of the past few weeks to upstage bitter rivals Newcastle in a madcap F3 Derby on Sunday afternoon, winning 3-2 after Andrew Redmayne saved a 97th-minute penalty and subsequently sent a goal kick long that teed up Nicholas Duarte to score a 98th-minute winner.
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Jackson, who led the Mariners to a historic premiership, championship, and AFC Cup treble in 2023-24, will lead Buriram into action for the first time on Tuesday — only briefly touching down in Thailand to come to grips with his new squad and surroundings before jumping back on a plane to return to Australia to face City.
The Englishman took over from Brazilian coach Osmar Loss, who was sacked despite the side being undefeated and sitting top of the Thai Premier League – a 2-2 draw with BG Pathum United and 3-0 loss to FC Seoul in the ACLE in his last two matches enough to see the axe swing.
“When you go to a big club, the pressure is on. I fully understand that,” Jackson said. “It’s where I want to be in my career.
“I feel that pressure is good; it keeps you on your toes [and] it keeps you driven and focused and motivated. That’s really, really important. Of course, [Buriram] brings a different challenge to the Central Coast, but I welcome that.”