Mark Robins has triumphed against nearly every obstacle that has been thrown at him, including promotions, cup runs, administrations, stadium condemnations, and point deductions.
The 55-year-old is currently leading Coventry City in the Championship’s top division, but eight months ago, Robins’ Sky Blues were facing Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
But after a playing career that started with the Red Devils and included stints in the top division with Norwich City and Leicester City, Robins’ now 780-game managerial career journey started in the more modest setting of Millmoor, home of Rotherham United, where he took caretaker charge of the Millers for the first time on Saturday, March 3, 2007.
After the Millers entered into a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), Robins, who had scored 26 goals to lead United’s run to the Championship seven years prior, was asked to head League One’s bottom side after a 10-point deduction. In 06/07, Robins was Alan Knill’s assistant manager.
Robins’ first game as manager was against Bradford City, and the Yorkshire derby ended in an exciting 4-1 triumph. Before relegation was confirmed against the backdrop of financial difficulties before the season ended, wins against Brentford and Gillingham, either side of losses to Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra, sealed the position on a permanent basis.
Robins guided the Millers to 74 and 75 points in the next two seasons while the team struggled with a number of off-field problems, most notably having to relocate from their century-old Millmoor home to Sheffield’s Don Valley Stadium. United might have had a chance at promotion in both campaigns, but for the 10 and 17 point deductions that left many expecting relegation to the non-league.
When Barnsley approached Robins in September 2009 to make the short trip to Oakwell to head the then-Conventional Tykes, Rotherham was in second place in League Two. Compared to the first of Robins’ 129 games as manager, the Millers were unquestionably in a far better situation. Adam Le Fondre, who was signed just a few weeks prior to Robins’ departure and turned out to be one of the club’s most successful additions with a return of 58 goals in 105 appearances, was his parting gift to the team.
The manager took charge of a struggling team that had only one point from their first five games and was at the bottom of the second division, even if the off-field situation at Barnsley wasn’t as dire as Robins’ Rotherham experiences.
In an intriguing turn of events, Robins’ request for reinforcements for a defense that had conceded 11 goals during that period was granted to the Potters. Carl Dickinson and Ryan Shotton both made loan moves and played a significant role as the Tykes rallied to stay ahead by seven points, a difference that was doubled the season before Robins left Oakwell in 2011.
During his time as Tykes manager, Robins, who had a keen eye for quality, gave future England internationals Kieran Trippier and Jay Rodriguez loan opportunities before they played for Burnley in the Premier League.
It took 15 months for Robins to return to management when he was first hired as Coventry City’s manager in September 2012, when the Sky Blues were in 23rd place in League One, winless, and with only three points from their first eight games.
After five months, City had won 24 league games and amassed 44 points under Robins’ leadership. This performance led Championship team Huddersfield Town to approach the Sky Blues for their manager.
When Robins joined the Terriers, who were three points above the drop zone with 15 games left in their first season back in the second division in over ten years, they managed to survive on the last day of the season with a four-point lead.
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