Fresh yet familiar, the sight of Mark Jackson on the bench for Lion City Sailors FC when the Singapore Premier League champions launch their ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ campaign against Công An Hà Nội FC on Thursday will cause some to do a double-take.
Mere days separated the Englishman’s departure from Buriram United FC, the club he led to the Shopee Cup™ crown in May, and his appointment by Lion City Sailors in a switch that brought surprise at both its speed and significance.
But Jackson is quick to stress his move from Thailand to Singapore – there were only four days between his Buriram United departure and his appointment by Lion City Sailors – was not as calculated as it may appear at first glance.
“It might have come out of the blue for people, but sometimes things go on in the background that people don't always know about, and people never get to know about, and that's quite rightly so,” Jackson says of his Buriram United exit.
“That'll always stay with me, but I was very appreciative of the opportunity to be at Buriram. I made many friends there. I think we made a big impact, and we had a lot of success there in that season.
“We shook hands, we wished each other all the best, and I always think how you part with an organisation is important, and I think both parties played their part in doing that in the correct manner. So that was good.”
Jackson had enjoyed a hugely successful 11-month spell with Buriram United after joining the club from Australia’s Central Coast Mariners FC, who he had previously led to the AFC Cup, the A-League Championship and the A-League Premiership.
He continued that winning streak in Thailand, leading Buriram United to the Thai League 1 title and the Thai FA Cup in addition to the club’s second successive Shopee Cup™ crown before deciding to make a break and return to the United Kingdom.
It was then, after his departure had been confirmed by the defending champions, that Lion City Sailors stepped in.
“I had to do a lot of research in a short space of time,” Jackson says of the surprise approach.
“But speaking to the owner and speaking to the sporting director after I came back from England, it was clear to me that this was something where my way of working and my way of organising the team and running the team could work very well.”
Jackson has taken over a Lion City Sailors team that occupies a similar place in Singaporean football to that filled by Buriram United in Thailand. The club are the current domestic champions and are the dominant force in the local game.
Where the clubs differ, however, is in their performances in the Shopee Cup™.
While Buriram United have dominated the competition since its inception in 2024, winning both editions consecutively, Lion City Sailors have not progressed beyond the group phase in both editions. Jackson has plans to change that.
“I think that's where the club wants to move forward for sure,” he says. “They want to continue the dominance they've had. That's an expectation for the club, an expectation that us as a group of staff and players need to embrace, that winning mentality there.
“But we want to move the club forward as well. We want to be competing towards the back end of these competitions and particularly aiming to win these competitions as well because I can see that the club has the potential to do that.
“But to compete in there, you need to have an understanding, you need to have a squad, and the club has built a great squad here as well. But then you have to combine that with a way of playing, a way of being adaptable.
“It's being adaptable; it's understanding that you're playing against a high level of opposition. So in certain games you might have to be a little bit more pragmatic in where you press and what your start point is, how you defend.
“You have to respect the opposition in these high level-competitions a little bit more, not underestimate them. I think respect is the wrong word, but you cannot underestimate them because they've got high quality players.”
And so, after tasting victory with Buriram United, does that mean Jackson believes Lion City Sailors can shake off their disappointing performances in the competition in the 2026/27 campaign to lift the regional crown?
“That's our target,” he says. “Let's not hide away from the fact that that's what we want to do. We're going into every season wanting to win everything and that's what I think a club of this stature needs to do.
“You have to embrace the pressure. If you don't embrace the pressure and say, 'Well, yeah, we won't mind doing it, but we want to win.' That's the expectation, so how do we do that? Hard work, commitment, clarity, focus.
“You have to suffer a little bit, a little bit of luck along the way. No team just dominates every competition without a little bit of luck. Our target is to take the club to the next level. That's my task, that's my responsibility along with the staff.”
The Shopee Cup™ returns for its third season on Wednesday when the 14 leading clubs from across ASEAN face off in the group phase of the competition, with the top four finishers advancing to the newly-installed quarter-final phase.
Buriram United begin the defence of their title against Borneo FC Samarinda in Group A, which also features Ratchaburi FC, Ho Chi Minh City Police FC, Kuching City FC, Tampines Rovers FC and Manila Digger FC.
Lion City Sailors and Công An Hà Nội share Group B alongside Port FC, Persib Bandung, Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, PKR Svay Rieng FC and Shan United FC.
Photo: Lion City Sailors FC
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