Peter Jackson: Back in the game and ready for fresh challenges

Bradford City manager Jackson has spent the past couple of months building a squad he believes is capable of restoring some pride to his home-town club.

It has not been easy, with money, as ever, tight at Valley Parade and several of his transfer targets having opted for clubs further up the football pyramid.

Nevertheless, the 50-year-old is happy with the fruits of his labours as the countdown continues towards the start of the new League Two season next week.

Jackson’s happy state of mind is fuelled by not only the rebuilding job that has seen nine new faces arrive but also a major sense of satisfaction at being, for the first time in three years, actively involved in football as a new campaign prepares to get under way.

“I can’t put into words just how great it feels,” says the former City captain to the Yorkshire Post in his office at Woodhouse Grove School, the club’s new training base.

“If I am honest, I wasn’t sure this would come around again as once you are out, it is very hard to get back in. That is the case in many walks of life, not just football.

“I had probably resigned myself that I wasn’t going to get back in and had got used to sitting at home on a Saturday, putting my bet on the afternoon’s matches.

“I have never been the sort of person to turn up at pre-season matches, trying to keep myself in the public eye and putting pressure on other managers.

“That had happened to me in the past and I vowed then never to do it to anyone else, and I am proud to say I didn’t. But it did hurt being out of the game.

“After leaving Lincoln, I did initially apply for a few jobs but most times I didn’t even get a reply, which did disappoint me. I sent my CV to Darlington and York but never heard anything back. So, I got to the point where I thought, ‘Why bother?’

“It was why I decided to try something else to give my family some security.”

That something else was not, as would have been the case not so long ago for many in the former football fraternity, a move into the pub industry or insurance.

Instead, Jackson and his wife Alison set up Caremark Calderdale, a franchise that provides care at home for elderly and disabled people as well as those suffering from terminal illness.

With his career in football seemingly at an end, Jackson was busy working hard to build the business when the chance arose to return to Valley Parade last February as interim manager following Peter Taylor’s decision to quit. “What me and my wife wanted to do was build something that would give our family security,” says Jackson, sitting in front of a huge photograph of him leading out the City team as captain before kick-off on the day of the 1985 fire disaster.

“I was very much hands on and I will not lie to you and say it wasn’t an extremely difficult life. People in football may claim they have problems but, believe me, they don’t. Not really.

“A typical day would have me in the office by 6.30am, ready to start the first round of calls, either wake-up or medication, at 7am. One night I was still working at 11pm, which is a long day – even for a football manager.

“My duties were a mixture of things and it was hard. One day, I found someone dead. Then, on other days, there would be medication to sort out along with ambulances and so on.

“We also did ‘end of life’ packages, which would basically involve going round to see a patient four times a day. One lady went home from hospital to die and she had to be turned every five hours.

“I really had to push myself and I would imagine there would have been quite a few people who wouldn’t have been able to do it.

“Every day brought a new experience in terms of problems that arose. But I was determined to make things work.

“My wife is still working those long hours, while for me it is a joy and a relief that I am back in football with Bradford.”

As Alison concentrates on running Caremark, her husband’s sole focus is on reviving the fortunes of a club who, last season, finished in their lowest league position for 45 years.

The City manager, who had two spells in charge of Huddersfield Town, added: “When I came in last season, I immediately felt at home. It felt like I was back at my club. Obviously, I have a lot of affection for Huddersfield after what I achieved there and how people treated me. But now I want to get this club back to where it was and should be.”

Jackson took interim charge last February with one brief – to keep City in the Football League, something he achieved with a fortnight to spare after a couple of worrying stumbles during the run-in against Southend United and Accrington Stanley.

Now, as the club prepare to kick off their 99th league season, Jackson is ready to push on.

He said: “The club has come a long way in a short space of time and everything feels very different to how it did in February.

“Last season, I was working with someone else’s team but this time I will be judged on my team and I am relishing that.

“For me, success would be to go up. That would be the ultimate achievement. But my first aim is to be in the top 10 come Christmas time as that would be a springboard to really push on.

“Starting well is hugely important, especially after the season the club has just had. Creating a positive vibe around the club is key and that is why the Carling Cup draw against Leeds is such a good one.

“Aldershot at home on the opening day is also massive, probably more so than the Leeds game – even allowing for the money that tie will bring in.”

Looking out of his office window at Woodhouse Grove, Jackson adds: “The new training facilities are a massive plus. When I was at Bradford as a player, we changed at Valley Parade and then drove to Apperley Bridge – something we were still doing last season. But now we all change together at Woodhouse Grove before going out to train.

“We also eat together on site, where all mobile phones are banned – meaning the players talk and communicate properly now.

“The set-up looks and feels a lot more professional, while I also believe it has brought more togetherness to the club.”

Tomorrow: Andy Scott.