Born in Bethnal Green, Jenkins played for East London Schoolboys before joining Leyton Orient in January 1966.
He never broke into West Ham's first-team and moved to non-league football with Margate at the end of January 1968.
He made his debut for Southampton at home to Nottingham Forest on 13 December 1969, where he took the place of long-time club servant, John Sydenham, on the left-wing.
At his best, Jenkins was a high-class winger with great speed, dazzling trickery and the ability to beat several defenders in one run, but would exasperate his fans by dribbling himself into trouble rather than release the ball to a teammate.
The following season was more productive for Jenkins, making 36 league and 5 cup appearances, but Swindon were relegated to Division Three.
In January 1974, he scored his best goal for the club in an FA Cup third round match away to Portsmouth, when after just four minutes he broke down the left-wing, beat two defenders before firing home a right foot shot from the edge of the area.
Overall, in his four years at Swindon, Jenkins struggled to hold down a regular first-team place – despite being described by manager Danny Williams as the most skilful player at the club.
When he arrived in the United States, he signed with the Seattle Sounders, then managed by John Best, of the North American Soccer League.
Four-Four-Two, the English football magazine, had an article on the impact of the NASL imports as youth coaches in the USA.