Challenge of promotion at Blades latest in long list for Adkins

Nigel Adkins says he has learned valuable lessons at all the clubs he managed ahead of joining Sheffield United.

The remit facing Nigel Adkins is simple: Get Sheffield United out of League One.

It was a challenge which Danny Wilson, David Weir and Nigel Clough all failed to meet and now the Bramall Lane hierarchy have turned to Adkins.

“Who needs Mourinho we’ve got our physio” was the chant from Scunthorpe United fans when the club’s physiotherapist replaced Brian Laws in 2006.

Many outside Scunthorpe saw it as a bit of a gimmick, but that quickly changed as Adkins – a former player who started out at Liverpool – took unfashionable Iron to the League One title in his first season in the position.

It was the launchpad for a managerial career which took Adkins to the Premier League with Southampton and Reading, and he is keen to return to the top flight.

So is the job of getting Sheffield United out of League One at the fifth attempt the biggest challenge yet for the 50-year-old boss?

“Biggest challenge? It’s the next job,” said Adkins, who started his managerial career at Bangor City in the mid-Nineties.

“You can talk about so many different scenarios. Bangor City winning two League of Wales for the first time in their history, playing in the European Cup.