Jackson Proud to Be Town's New Number Nine Monday, 13th Aug 2018 14:23 He may be undaunted by being handed the iconic Town number nine shirt but Kayden Jackson is still proud to have inherited the squad number vacated by Martyn Waghorn upon his departure to Derby. Past number nines have included Ray Crawford and Paul Mariner, who between them scored the many of the goals that earned the club League Championship, FA Cup and UEFA Cup successes, as well as propelling them to personal glory in the shape of England recognition. And before anyone dismisses the possibility of Jackson, who cost a fee of £1.6 million when he arrived from Accrington last week, following in similar footsteps, perhaps they need to examine the career statistics of both his predecessors in closer detail. Crawford, now 82, was discarded by Portsmouth and snapped up by Alf Ramsey in 1958, while Mariner spent time in non-league before joining Plymouth, then in the third tier of English football, making his path even more similar to that of Jackson. “It’s just another shirt to be honest,” said Jackson. “Whether it’s nine or 99, at the end of the day I’m going on to the pitch and still doing the same thing, trying to put the ball in the back of the net. “It’s a great shirt to have and it’s a proud moment for me to get it. All my family were delighted when they saw me with the shirt and I’m just looking forward to getting out there, scoring goals and helping the team.” Jackson’s career in the professional game was launched when he won a competition organised by the electronic giants Samsung. He takes up the story: “I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked about this but I came into football through a competition that was run by Samsung. I entered it on Facebook and had a few trials here and there. “Next minute Paolo Di Canio is signing me for Swindon on a year’s professional contract. It was a crazy, crazy time. He had quite a few good words for me, to be fair, but I was going from the North East Counties League in Bradford from £40 or £50 a game — if I was lucky! “Like I’ve said, it was crazy but I always look back at that time and feel proud. Before joining Swindon I’d just come out of college in Leeds after doing a fitness training course through the summer. I was looking for a job working in a gym when I saw the competition and decided to enter.” But that’s not the only time he has appeared on the small screen outside his role as a footballer, although he was less keen to talk about the other. When reminded he had featured in the ITV show Judge Rinder, when he and his brother had a dispute over a broken wardrobe, he looked sheepish and said: “I won’t comment on that. It was about employment.” Like many before him, Jackson has suffered plenty of disappointments in football. He recalled: “Just before the Samsung competition I had trials at Leeds, where Neil Redfearn took me in from county football up in Yorkshire, and also Blackburn. “Redders liked what he saw of me but I didn’t get offered a contract and it was the same at Blackburn, where I had a couple of weeks. It gave me a taste for it but that came through winning the competition and getting signed by Swindon. “When I went to Swindon perhaps I wasn’t really expected to play but it was nice to be training day in, day out, which I’d never done before. “I felt I did fairly well at Swindon and I had a couple of loan moves where I did well. It was unfortunate that I didn’t really get the chance, for whatever reason. “Swindon and Barnsley, were both massive learning curves for me. Barnsley was probably the most frustrating time because I felt I’d done well to earn the move. “I’d finished the previous season well at Wrexham and there was quite a bit of interest in me. “I chose Barnsley because that’s where I thought I would get a fair opportunity and it never came about. I look back on it now and think there’s a reason for everything that happens. “If it’s meant to happen it will do, so I’m not too disappointed with how it went at Barnsley. It has definitely made me hungrier and every chance I get now I am determined to take it. “Along the way I had a loan spell at Grimsby under Paul Hurst and he clearly liked what I had to offer because he has brought me to Ipswich. “I’m here now and looking forward to it, although I know it is going to be a big step up from League Two. “I’ve already had a taste of it in pre-season because we played Middlesbrough and I scored against them. We also played Huddersfield — obviously a Premier League side — and I scored against them as well. “We also had a game against Blackburn. It’s a step-up but one I’m looking forward to making.”
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