SLOUGH TOWN stalwart Jamie Jackson has spoken of his desire to win promotion this season over 20 years since first joining the football club.

The veteran keeper joined the Rebels as a member of Alan Paris’ youth team, aged 15, before signing first team forms under Brian McDermott a year later.

He had to wait until 2007 to make his full debut and, now 38 years old, featured in the 9-2 League Cup drubbing of Ashford Town (Middx) on Tuesday.

Jackson has suffered relegation with Slough but, now spurred on by the return to the borough at Arbour Park, has his sights set on promotion to National League South.

“I’ve done the poor side of it, the relegation and towing the low end of the table for quite some time with the club, so I would like to be around for any promotion,” Jackson told the Observer.

“I’m hoping to be anyway. As long as the legs, knees and back hold up then I’ve got another six or seven months. Whether I’ve got another year after that I don’t know but it would be nice to stick around.

“In hindsight, hopefully it will be a good [FA Cup] exit for us and we can concentrate on the league because that’s the priority and promotion is a big possibility this year.

Slough Observer:

(Black and white photo): A young Jamie Jackson (top row and fifth from the left) with then-manager Brian McDermott (far left).

“It’s the best squad I’ve seen here, since the 90s. It’s a really good side and we’ve got a big chance to get promotion this year.”

Jackson used to watch Slough at Wexham Park as a young boy with his grandfather, John Lewis, and has always had an affiliation with the Rebels, despite playing for several other local clubs.

The local lad paid tribute to chairman, Steve Easterbrook, for all his work to bring Slough back into the borough, and he believes the club is now in a position to push on again.

“I think this is my fourth or fifth spell here now,” said Jackson. “The big draw now and the big pull is this stadium. Coming home was a massive thing for us.

“For us to be back in the town, pulling gates on a windy Tuesday night in the League Cup, is a great footing for us as a club to go forward again.

“The club is in great shape and, when the stadium is finished in the spring, we will go from strength to strength.

“The facilities in the stadium are superb and it’s putting bums on seats again.

“When I first heard it was a 3-G pitch, as a goalkeeper, you kind of think, Christ, bumps and bruises every week, but it's an absolute pleasure to play on.

“The pitch is superb and the squad the Neil Baker and Jon Underwood have built is fit to play it.

“It works to our advantage and, to be fair, every home game that we have played we've put in a performance and we look a strong squad."