Kenny Jackett has died at the age of 64 after stepping down as director of football at Gillingham for medical reasons just 18 months ago.
Jackett joined his boyhood club Watford at the age of 12 and made his first team debut just six years later. He went on to become the club’s sixth highest appearance maker, turning out 337 times for the Hornets between 1980 and 1990.
However, his playing career was cut short, retiring at 28, having undergone a series of knee operations. The one-club man turned his attention towards management after his 10-year playing career, taking charge of Watford in 1996.
But after one season in charge, he was demoted from manager to assistant, with Graham Taylor returning to the club. The pair achieved successive promotions as Watford leapfrogged from the third division to the Premier League.
When Taylor left Watford, so did Jackett. But he continued to perfect his craft as an assistant to Ian Holloway at QPR.
After three more years as an apprentice, Jackett stepped up to take a full-time managerial role at Swansea City, where he remained for three years – achieving promotion from League Two in his first season.
He spent a further two decades in the dugout across six different clubs, achieving promotion to the Championship on two occasions – through the play-offs at Millwall in 2010, before winning League One at Wolverhampton Wanderers four years later.
Jackett’s final job in management came at Leyton Orient, where he was sacked after less than a year in charge, following an 11 game winless run in 2022.
Three months later, he was named director of football at Gillingham after a takeover by American businessman Brad Galinson, but left on medical grounds after less than two years in the role.
