Adam Jackson spent much of last season out injured, but as the longest-serving member of the Lincoln City squad, he’s popular with supporters.
He’s been seen a bit in pre-season, but competition for places is significant. With Tom Hamer and Deji Elerewe likely to start, and Andrei Coubis waiting in the wings, it’s tight for two spots. Ryley Towler and Sonny Bradley both played a lot of football last season and will be eager for a start, making life tough for former Barnsley man Jackson.
Signed from Hibernian in 2020, many feel perhaps Jacko is edging towards a City exit. He’s a great character and has been a big part of our League One journey, and as head coach Tom Shaw revealed, conversations are going on with the 32-year-old
“Jacko’s training with us, training well,” Tom said in his pre-match press conference.
“We’re speaking to Jacko about his sort of fit in the squad and what his opportunities might be this year.
“We’ll keep speaking to Jacko, keep looking at how the squad settles over the next couple of weeks until the transfer window, and then make the right decision about what’s best for the club and Adam Jackson at that point.”
While an exit is possible, it certainly isn’t set in stone. If we revert to three at the back, then he would be one of the three alternatives, in the ‘two for each position’ philosophy the club seemingly wish to operate with.
However, with no EFL Trophy and no FA Cup game until January, game time might be restricted, and with a few years left of his career, he may need something a little more regular.
“He wants to play, Adam Jackson,” said Tom.
“He’s just a brilliant character, and so are the others. We will have conversations with the lads in the next few weeks and in the build-up to games where we don’t give them what they want. Everyone wants to be playing, everyone wants to play 90 minutes.
“But they know how myself and Chris work. They know how we pick a team, what we go after. It will change, there’ll be different shapes week to week, and the lads, as long as they’re professional in how they act, we want them to be a bit disappointed really and then prove us wrong. That’s the challenge there.”
Jackson began his career with this weekend’s opponents, Middlesbrough. He came through their academy and represented England from under-16 to under-19 level, before gaining senior experience on loan with Halifax Town and Hartlepool United. He joined Barnsley permanently in 2016 and made 44 appearances in all competitions before moving to Hibernian three years later. His single season in Scotland brought 22 appearances and four goals before City signed him in August 2020.
The defender has since become one of the Imps’ longest-serving players, making 178 appearances in all competitions across his first six seasons at the club. He was part of the side that reached the League One play-off final in 2020/21 and later helped City win the League One title in 2025/26. Jackson signed a new contract in July 2025, running until the summer of 2027.
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