Kenny Jackett, who guided Wolves to League One title glory, dies aged 64

Kenny Jackett, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Millwall and Swansea City manager, has died at the age of 64. The Englishman spent close to three decades in management, overseeing more than 900 games across a career that began in 1996 and stretched into the 2020s.

Jackett started his managerial journey at Watford before earning promotion with both Swansea and Millwall. He arrived at Wolves in 2013 with the club languishing in League One and secured promotion at the first attempt, going on to make them competitive in the Championship and narrowly missing out on the play-offs. His time at Molineux is remembered as the foundation on which the club’s subsequent rise was built.

He later managed Rotherham, Portsmouth and Leyton Orient. At Portsmouth’s Fratton Park he twice reached the EFL Trophy final, lifting the trophy in 2019 before finishing as runner-up in 2020. His final role in the game came as director of football at Gillingham, a position he took up in January 2023 before leaving in November 2024 on medical grounds.

Millwall were among the first to pay tribute. “Kenny managed over 300 games during his time with the club, leading The Lions to promotion from League One and to an FA Cup Semi-Final,” the club said in a statement. “Rest in peace, Kenny.”

Wolves described themselves as “devastated”, adding: “Kenny led the club to its incredible record-breaking League One title and laid the foundations for the club as we know it today. The thoughts of everyone at Wolves are with Kenny’s family and friends at this time.”

League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan paid an extensive tribute, calling Jackett “one of the most respected managers to have plied their trade in the EFL”. Bevan said he “embodied everything we like to see in a manager — humility, professionalism and a deep care for his players and staff,” adding that Jackett “improved every club he served and did so with quiet dignity throughout his career.”

Bevan extended condolences to Jackett’s wife Samantha and sons David and Ryan.