FARSLEY boss Neil Parsley has mixed feelings about his friend and confidant Mark Jackson moving on but he is delighted for the new Leeds United Academy coach.

Jackson has been Parsley’s number two and the pair have been side by since 'Jacko' was Parsley’s captain and central defensive cornerstone.

Now there is a parting of the ways and the Farsley boss will miss his old mate.

Parsley, whose side beat Shaw Lane Aquaforce 2-0 on Wednesday, said: “It was great to win in midweek and send Jacko off with a positive result. That was his last game with us and we’ll miss him.

“We all wish him well but I sincerely hope our paths will cross again in football. It was something he couldn’t turn down and he had a chat with us at Farsley, with his family and with the people at Leeds College (who are partners in the Farsley academy) before he decided it was what he wanted.”

Jackson was not just the club’s number two, he was also in charge of Farsley Celtic’s academy.

Jackson will be returning to Leeds as he began his career at Elland Road before spells with Scunthorpe United and Rochdale.

Parsley added: “I’m sorry to be losing him but on the other hand I’m very pleased for him because it’s a good job that he’s got and one that’s right up his street.

"Jacko is an honest, knowledgeable, innovative coach and a man of great integrity.

“It’s the end of an era because we go back a long way. We’ve had some good times and got some great results but we’ve had the bad times as well and we’ve become good mates and I’d like to go on record to thank him for his input.

“I hope that he has learned a bit from me as well and that Farsley as a club has helped him reach his achievement of getting back into the full time game.

"It was something that came about by chance really because someone asked him if he knew there was a job going with Leeds.

“He wasn’t aware that there was but expressed an interest straight away. Some thought that Paul Hart’s return to Thorpe Arch was the catalyst but that was just coincidence.

"Jacko knows Paul very well but he had already spoken with Leeds United and things were moving along.”