Nigel Howard Adkins (born 11 March 1965) is an English professional
football manager
''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...
and former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and
physiotherapist
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...
. He was most recently the manager and technical director at
Tranmere Rovers.
Adkins played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
for
Tranmere Rovers and
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
. He finished his playing career and began his managerial career at Welsh club
Bangor City before joining
Scunthorpe United's backroom staff. As the club's physio, Adkins was appointed as caretaker manager before receiving the job permanently. He led the club to the
League One title in
2006–07. However, the club were relegated from the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
the following season but would return the following season after winning the
2009 play-off final. He also led Scunthorpe to the
2009 Football League Trophy final that season. After managing to keep Scunthorpe in the Championship, he joined League One club
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. He led the club to two successive promotions as runners-up, reaching the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. He was sacked by the club in January 2013 and later moved to fellow Premier League club
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
. He was unable to keep Reading in the division and was sacked during the following season. He has subsequently had spells as manager at
Sheffield United,
Hull City and
Charlton Athletic. In 2023, he joined
Tranmere Rovers, initially as a technical director before becoming manager permanently in November 2023. In February 2025, he stepped down by mutual agreement.
Playing career
Adkins began his career at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, but was released without playing a first team game. In 1983, he joined
Tranmere Rovers and made 86 league appearances in three years. In 1986, he transferred to
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
, the club where he spent the majority of his career, playing 155 league games between 1986 and 1993. He suffered a double spinal fracture at age 23, which curtailed his career. Adkins joined
Bangor City as player-manager in 1993, making 95 league appearances and guiding them to consecutive championships before leaving the club in 1996. Adkins subsequently retired from playing at age 31, having made 336 league appearances in a 13-year career.
Following his retirement from playing, Adkins graduated from the
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...
with a degree in physiotherapy and joined the physiotherapy department at
Scunthorpe United.
Managerial career
Bangor City
Adkins began his managerial career in 1993 as the player-manager of
Bangor City in the
League of Wales where he won the championship in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, before departing in February 1996.
Scunthorpe United
Adkins was appointed
caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...
by
Scunthorpe United chairman Steve Wharton in November 2006, following the departure of the previous manager,
Brian Laws
Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...
. After his spell as caretaker, he was appointed as permanent manager on 7 December 2006. As Adkins had been promoted to the manager's seat from the role of club physiotherapist,
[Nigel Adkins works wonders as Scunny make the most of little money]
– The Sport Blog; The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
newspaper Scunthorpe supporters
chanted, "Who needs
Mourinho, we've got our physio!" on the terraces of
Glanford Park in his honour.
Adkins guided Scunthorpe to promotion from
League One to the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
with three matches to spare on 14 April 2007, and they went on to seal the divisional title to end an absence of more than 40 years from the league's second tier.
Scunthorpe were relegated from the Championship the following season, but returned via the League One play-offs in May 2009, playing at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in consecutive months, having played
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
in the final of the
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
on 5 April. They struggled once again in the higher division, but this time avoided relegation by finishing 20th and being five points clear of
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Formed in 1867 as an off ...
– the last relegated club.
Southampton
Adkins joined
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
on 12 September 2010, after the Saints and Scunthorpe United agreed a compensation package. Adkins signed a three-year contract and was joined there by his former assistant at Scunthorpe,
Andy Crosby. He gained his first victory in charge in his third game winning 1–0 at Sheffield Wednesday, with
Lee Barnard scoring the only goal. The good start to his tenure continued and he guided Southampton into the play-off part of the table for the first time in League One on 2 November 2010 after a 4–0 win over
Dagenham & Redbridge. After this result, the club joined the League One promotion rush, which was expected of them at the start of the campaign, and before the slow start. In the club's 125th anniversary match, Adkins saw his side beat
Peterborough United 4–1. This was the sixth consecutive home win, the best home form for the football club since 1992.
Adkins guided his team into the top two for the first time since being relegated, after a 4–0 win over
Exeter City on New Year's Day 2011 and managed a victory against
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
opposition in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
just one week later, taking his side into the fourth round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
. Three days later he led his side to a 6–0 win away to
Oldham Athletic and in the process recorded their fifth-straight victory. During Adkins' first transfer window at the club, he secured the contract of winger
Adam Lallana for a new four-and-a-half-year contract. He signed winger
Dany N'Guessan
Djombo Dany-Gael N'Guessan (born 11 August 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left winger or forward
A graduate of the Auxerre Academy, he left France for Scotland when he signed with Rangers in July 2005. He ...
on loan from
Leicester City, and signed
Jonathan Forte on a three-and-a-half-year contract from Adkins' former club Scunthorpe United. Under the guidance of Adkins, ''the Saints'' achieved a club record of clean sheets in one season, beating the previous record of 19 set by
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper.
His 31-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the uni ...
in the early 1980s. Adkins guided his side to promotion into the Championship after a 3–1 home win against
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
on 7 May 2011, earning his third League One promotion in his managerial career behind champions
Brighton and Hove Albion. He won the
League One Manager of the Month for April 2011 after winning seven of the eight games that month and putting Southampton on the brink of promotion.
He then broke a 12-year hoodoo of not winning on the opening day of the league season by beating
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
at
St Mary's Stadium 3–1 and send them straight into second in the Championship. In the process, he also broke a record by leading Southampton to seven consecutive league wins for the first time in their history. Two subsequent away wins – against
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
(1–0) and
Ipswich Town (5–2) – kept Southampton top of the Championship. The club record of consecutive league victories extended to ten after a 1–0 win at home to
Millwall. They suffered a minor blip in their next game, a 3–2 defeat at Leicester, but bounced back winning 3–1 in the second round of the League Cup at
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded as Swindon A ...
. Adkins then guided ''the Saints'' to two successive home wins in a week; 3–2 over
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football.
Founde ...
and 4–1 against
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
. ''The Saints'' continued their remarkable start to the season and only lost 2 of their first 17 games. Despite a wobbly period around Christmas time, Adkins guided Southampton to a 12-game unbeaten run which kept them in the top two. ''Saints'' finally secured promotion to the Premier League on the final day of the season, beating
Coventry City 4–0 at
St Mary's in front of a club-record crowd. Adkins was the first Southampton manager to gain back-to-back promotions and kept Southampton in the top two all season.
Adkins took charge of his first Premier League match as Southampton manager on 19 August 2012, losing 3–2 away to
reigning champions Manchester City
Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
despite being 2–1 up with 18 minutes of the game remaining. His first top flight win came on 22 September 2012, beating
Aston Villa 4–1 at St Mary's.
In October 2012, Adkins disclosed that he recites the
Dale Wimbrow poem,
''The Guy in The Glass'' to control stress.
After much speculation over his future, on 18 January 2013 it was confirmed that Adkins had been sacked as Southampton manager and replaced by former
Espanyol manager
Mauricio Pochettino. As Adkins and Southampton were unable to agree the terms of his compensation package, Adkins commenced legal action for breach of contract in March 2013.
Reading
On 26 March 2013, Adkins was appointed manager at fellow Premier League club
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
in succession to
Brian McDermott, who had been dismissed a fortnight earlier. His first game in charge ended in a 4–1 defeat away to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
on 30 March 2013. Adkins could not stop Reading from being relegated, and they started the
2013–14 season in the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
. On 15 December 2014, Adkins was sacked following his side's 6–1 defeat to Birmingham which left them ten points behind a play-off place in the Championship.
Sheffield United
On 2 June 2015, Adkins was appointed as the manager at League One club
Sheffield United.
Sheffield United ended the season in 11th place, their lowest league position since 1983, eight points from the play-offs. Because of this, Adkins was sacked on 12 May 2016.
Hull City
On 7 December 2017, Adkins was appointed as the manager of
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
club
Hull City, signing an 18-month contract, following the dismissal of
Leonid Slutsky. He took over the Tigers while they sat in 20th place, three points adrift from the relegation drop and five from bottom. His first game in charge, a 3–2 victory over
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
, saw the club rise up to 18th place. At the end of the season, City finished in 18th place, eight points above the relegation places.
In his first full season in charge, Adkins led the club to a 13th-place finish, winning 17 of their 46 games. During this league campaign, he won the
divisional Manager of the Month award for December, in which his player
Jarrod Bowen received the monthly
Player of the Month award. On 8 June 2019, Adkins confirmed his decision not to renew his expiring contract, stating that his and the club's futures were "not aligned".
Charlton Athletic
On 18 March 2021, Adkins was appointed as manager of
Charlton Athletic signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.
On 21 October 2021, Adkins left Charlton Athletic following a poor start to the
2021–22 season which saw the club slip to its lowest ever league position.
Tranmere Rovers
On 7 May 2023, Adkins returned to
Tranmere Rovers as technical director, mentor and advisor to manager
Ian Dawes. On 10 September 2023 Adkins was appointed interim manager following Dawes' sacking.
He was appointed permanent manager on 2 November 2023, signing a contract until the end of 2025–26 season. On 26 February 2025, Adkins left Tranmere by mutual agreement.
This decision came after a ten-game winless run in the league which culminated in a home defeat to
Accrington Stanley which left Tranmere two points above the relegation zone.
Adkins won 23 of his 72 games in charge at Tranmere.
Managerial style
Adkins had been praised by former players for his man-management, and for his ability to instil belief in his players and generate confidence within his squads.
Personal life
Adkins and his wife, Angie, have two children.
[
]
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player-manager
Bangor City
* League of Wales: 1993–94, 1994–95
* Welsh League Cup runner-up: 1993–94
Manager
Scunthorpe United
*Football League One
The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
: 2006–07; play-offs: 2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
*Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
runner-up: 2008–09
Southampton
*Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
runner-up: 2011–12
*Football League One runner-up: 2010–11
Individual
*League of Wales Manager of the Season: 1993–94, 1994–95
* Football League One Manager of the Month: February 2007, April 2011, December 2015
*Member of the Welsh Premier League Hall of Fame
References
External links
Nigel Adkins career profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adkins, Nigel
1965 births
Living people
Footballers from Birkenhead
English men's footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Bangor City F.C. players
English Football League players
Cymru Premier players
Men's association football player-managers
English football managers
Bangor City F.C. managers
Scunthorpe United F.C. managers
Southampton F.C. managers
Reading F.C. managers
Sheffield United F.C. managers
Hull City A.F.C. managers
Charlton Athletic F.C. managers
Cymru Premier managers
English Football League managers
Premier League managers
Tranmere Rovers F.C. non-playing staff
Association football physiotherapists
British physiotherapists
Alumni of the University of Salford
Association football technical directors
Liverpool F.C. players