| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jack William Lester[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-10-08)8 October 1975 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brentford (Assistant Head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1994 | Grimsby Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–2000 | Grimsby Town | 133 | (17) |
| 1996 | →Doncaster Rovers (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2000–2003 | Nottingham Forest | 99 | (21) |
| 2003–2004 | Sheffield United | 44 | (12) |
| 2004–2007 | Nottingham Forest | 76 | (12) |
| 2007–2013 | Chesterfield | 197 | (83) |
| 2014 | Gateshead | 8 | (2) |
| Total | 568 | (148) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014–2017 | Nottingham Forest (U18s) | ||
| 2017 | Nottingham Forest (U23s) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Chesterfield | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jack William Lester (born 8 October 1975) is an English football coach and former professionalplayer, who is the assistant head coach ofPremier League clubBrentford.
As a playerSheffield born Lester played as aforward from 1994 to 2014. He came through the youth ranks atGrimsby Town where he moved into the first team in 1994. He became a first team regular and was part of the squad that was victorious in theFootball League Trophy andFootball League Second Division play-offs during the 1997–98 season. He played atBlundell Park until midway through the 1999–2000 campaign when he was sold to Town'sFirst Division relegation rivalsNottingham Forest. He spent three years as a first team regular for Forest before switching toSheffield United in 2003. Lester returned to Forest after only spending a year with The Blades. Lester remained at the City Ground for another three seasons before joiningChesterfield in 2007. After six years at Chesterfield, Lester retired on 27 April 2013. On 3 February 2014, Lester came out of retirement and joinedGateshead on a non-contract basis. In his final ever appearance as a player he scored atWembley Stadium in Gateshead'sFootball Conference play-off final defeat.
Following retirement Lester brief coached at youth level forNotts County before later returning to Forest where he held various coaching positions. In 2017 he returned to Chesterfield as first team manager but was unable to prevent them from being relegated from theFootball League. He returned to Sheffield United in 2019 taking up a role as the head of their youth academy, before stepping up to first team coach during the 2021–22 season.
Lester started his career withGrimsby Town and signed his first professional contract in 1994. He was nurtured into a first team role at Grimsby by managerAlan Buckley and his assistantJohn Cockerill.After a brief loan spell withDoncaster Rovers in which he played 11 games (5 in the starting lineup) and scored one goal, Lester became a regular atBlundell Park.During his time there he formed notable strike partnerships withClive Mendonca,Steve Livingstone,Lee Ashcroft andJamie Forrester.It was during the 1997–1998 season that he had arguably his best season with Grimsby. He was a regular fixture in the first team and helped the club succeed in an impressive double final win atWembley Stadium.The Mariners defeatedAFC Bournemouth in theFootball League Trophy (although Lester was suspended for the final)[3] before beatingNorthampton Town in the Division Two play-off Final a few weeks later.[4]Lester stayed with Grimsby until midway through the 1999–2000 season when he was controversially sold just after the turn of the millennium. He made 133 league appearances and scored 17 league goals in his time with The Mariners, and is still a popular figure at the club.
David Platt signed Lester forNottingham Forest in February 2000 for £300,000, just three weeks after he led the Grimsby attack beating Forest 4–3 in the League; it was from that game that Platt became interested in signing the player. It took some time for Lester to settle in at theCity Ground but when Platt left the club, new managerPaul Hart moved him to an attacking midfield role where he flourished, making over 70 starts and scoring 24 goals. In 2003, he was released by Hart in an attempt to reduce debts.
After an unsuccessful trial atSheffield Wednesday, he was signed by Wednesday's bitter rivalsSheffield United at the start of the 2003–4 season. Lester played alongsideSteve Kabba amongst others atBramall Lane. He remained a first choice striker at the club for the entire season and made 50 appearances for United until his exit in November 2004.
Lester was offered the chance to return to Forest and he was re-signed byJoe Kinnear in 2004 for £50,000. He scored in his first game but in his third start damaged knee ligaments which kept him out of action for almost 9 months. He went on to play 88 games in this second spell. Then after Nottingham Forest failed win promotion in the2006–07 season, he was released by managerColin Calderwood.[5]
In June 2007 he signed forChesterfield on a 3-year contract.[6] He finished the 2007–08 season as Chesterfield's top scorer, with 25 goals in all competitions. This tally made him 3rd top scorer in League Two, with 23 goals in the league, 6 behindAaron McLean ofPeterborough United. That season he also became the fastest post-warChesterfield player to 20 goals in a season, getting his 20th (and 100th career goal) live on TV againstHereford United. He finished the season third in England on goal to game ratio, behindCristiano Ronaldo andFernando Torres. Lester scored his 100th League career goal in the 2–1 win over Exeter City on 28 January 2009. He also set a club record in becoming the first striker at the club to score 20 goals in consecutive seasons for 82 years. Despite scoring fewer goals than in his first season at Chesterfield, he finished the 2008–9 term as joint-top scorer for League Two, with 20 League goals.
In the 2010–11 season Lester scored 17 goals in 43 games (all in home games) as Chesterfield wonFootball League Two. Later going on to sign a new 2-year contract, keeping him at the club until June 2013. Lester suffered a broken arm againstLeyton Orient in September 2011 which kept him out of the side for three months. Lacking both Jack and injured goalkeeper Tommy Lee, Chesterfield's results suffered and the team slumped to the foot of the division. Lester returned to the team in late December but was suspended and missed three further matches after the referee in the home game againstWalsall watched recorded footage from the game and saw him strike an opponent. On 30 January 2012 Jack scored the late winning goal atBoundary Park againstOldham Athletic which ensured that Chesterfield reached the final of theFootball League Trophy atWembley, on a 3–1 aggregate score.
In his final season for Chesterfield, 2012–13, Lester played the majority of his games from the substitutes bench. He made only 11 starts despite figuring in 38 games in all competitions. Regardless of this his score rate is still impressive, having bagged 11 goals from just 1,454 minutes of football (the equivalent of just over 16 full games).[7] Jack played his last game for Chesterfield, and his last game in professional football on 27 April 2013. He scored twice as The Spireites won 4–0 in a game that was a "fitting send off for a player who will forever be remembered by the Chesterfield faithful".[8] His legendary status is regularly referred to by the club and fans[9] and in August 2013, Chesterfield announced that the number worn by Lester throughout his time with the club, 14, would be retired in his honour.[10]
On 3 February 2014, Lester came out of retirement, signing forConference Premier sideGateshead on non-contract terms.[11] He made his Gateshead debut on 25 February as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 defeat atWelling United.[12] He made his first start and scored his first goal for Gateshead on 22 March 2014 in a 3–1 win againstLincoln City.[13] He was part of the Gateshead side that pushed for promotion to theFootball League and after defeating former sideGrimsby Town in the play-off semi-final, Gateshead were eventually beaten in the final atWembley Stadium byCambridge United. Lester came on as a 69th-minute substitute and scored in the 80th minute but the club went on to lose 2–1. The game marked Lester's final appearance before retiring.[14] At the end of the season in accordance with his decision to retire, Lester was released by Gateshead following the end of his contract.[15]
After retiring in 2013 with Chesterfield, Lester and his family embarked on a year's travelling around Europe, but after his trip was cut short, and a potential coaching job in America fell through, he joinedNotts County as an academy coach for the under 12s, while also returning to play semi-professionally forGateshead.[16]
On 1 August 2014, Lester was appointed coach of the U18 side of former clubNottingham Forest.[17] Upon his arrival, he stated towards the club's official website: "I saw it as an exciting prospect and the timing was perfect, It's been everything I hoped it would be. There are still quite a few people I know at Nottingham Forest and it's a wonderful club. I was delighted with the opportunity to work there again."
Lester returned to Chesterfield after being appointed as the team's new manager on 29 September 2017.[18] His first game in charge ended in a 2–0 loss toCheltenham. Following a 4–1 loss to fellow strugglersForest Green Rovers, which ended any realistic chance of Chesterfield avoiding relegation to theNational League,[19] Lester and Chesterfield mutually parted ways on 23 April 2018.[20]
On 19 July 2019, Lester returned toSheffield United as the head of the club's youth academy.[21]
In December 2021, Lester was promoted to first team coach by new managerPaul Heckingbottom.[22] Lester extended his contract at Bramall Lane to the summer of 2028 along with Chris Wilder and his backroom team.
On 26 June 2025, Sheffield United announced he had left the club following the arrival of new coachRubén Sellés.[23]
On 4 September 2023, Lester was appointed as a temporary assistant coach for theWales national football team under former teammateRob Page. Page had been seeking a temporary assistant following the resignation ofEric Ramsay.[24]
| Club | Division | Season | League[A] | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[B] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Grimsby Town | First Division | 1994–95 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | ||
| Second Division | 1997–98 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 57 | 9 | |
| First Division | 1998–99 | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | |
| 1999–2000 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 7 | ||
| Total | 133 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 167 | 25 | ||
| Doncaster Rovers (loan) | Third Division | 1996–97 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Nottingham Forest | First Division | 1999–2000 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 7 | ||
| 2001–02 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 9 | ||
| Total | 99 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 104 | 24 | ||
| Sheffield United | First Division | 2003–04 | 32 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 15 |
| Championship | 2004–05 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Total | 44 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 16 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | Championship | 2004–05 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| League One | 2005–06 | 38 | 5 | 2[1] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | |
| 2006–07 | 35 | 6[2] | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 45 | 7 | ||
| Total | 76 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 88 | 13 | ||
| Chesterfield | League Two | 2007–08 | 36 | 25[3] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 27 |
| 2008–09 | 37 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 23 | ||
| 2009–10 | 29 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 12 | ||
| 2010–11 | 40 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 17 | ||
| League One | 2011–12 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 4 | |
| League Two | 2012–13 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 11 | |
| Total | 197 | 83 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 219 | 94 | ||
| Gateshead | Conference Premier | 2013–14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 |
| Career Totals | 568 | 148 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 14 | 24 | 4 | 648 | 174 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Chesterfield | 29 September 2017 | 23 April 2018 | 37 | 9 | 7 | 21 | 024.3 | [20][31] |
| Total | 37 | 9 | 7 | 21 | 024.3 | |||
Grimsby Town
Chesterfield
Individual
