Kenneth Francis Jackett (born 5 January 1962) is a former professional football player and manager, who is currently Director of Football at club Gillingham. A skilful left-footed player, able to play in defence or midfield, Jackett was capped 31 times for Wales. He spent his entire playing career at Watford before his career was ended by injury at the age of 28. Having moved on to the club's coaching staff, he began his managerial career during the 1996–97 season. From 2004 to 2007 he was manager of Swansea City, leading the club to promotion and several trophies. He served as Millwall manager for six seasons, again bringing a promotion, before resigning in May 2013; weeks later he took over as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, a position he held until July 2016, yet again garnering a promotion along the way. Jackett was appointed Rotherham United manager in October 2016 before leaving in November. In June 2017 it was announced he would take over from Paul Cook to become the Portsmouth manager. In May 2021, Jackett took over from Jobi McAnuff as manager of Leyton Orient. Early and personal life Jackett is the son of professional footballer Frank Jackett, who played for Watford between 1949 and 1953. His son Ryan was appointed caretaker manager of Kings Langley in September 2019. Playing career Club Jackett joined his local club Watford at the age of 12, progressing to make his first team debut aged 18 on 26 April 1980 as a substitute in a game at Sunderland. He became a regular member of the Watford side that won promotion to the First Division and finished runners-up in the league in the 1982–83 season under manager Graham Taylor. In addition, he played in the club's first in only two appearances in an FA Cup Final, when they lost to Everton in 1984. These successes also led to Jackett appearing in the subsequent UEFA Cup campaign. However, having undergone a series of knee operations, he was forced to prematurely end his playing career in 1990 aged 28. In total he made 428 appearances for the Hornets, scoring 34 goals, placing him sixth in the club's all-time appearance records. International Jackett made his international debut for Wales, for whom he was eligible through his Welsh-born father, on 22 September 1982 in a 1–0 win over Norway in a Euro 84 qualifier. He won 31 full caps in