In the summer, when Sheffield United appointed Nigel Adkins as their manager, it was considered quite the coup for the League One side as they look to return to the Championship.

The 50-year old is more famous for his time with Southampton when he led them to consecutive promotions during a three-year stay with the club and he has established himself as one of the best managers in the Football League.

He will hope to secure the Blades' return to the second tier of English football this season after a four year absence. He has achieved promotion numerous times in his career and he will hope to add another to his CV with United.

He has managed in League One, The Championship and the Premier League and has certainly had an impressive career as a manager.

Here are FIVE things you maybe didn't know about Nigel Adkins.....

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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE THINGS!

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He had a relatively successful career as a goalkeeper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Adkins is certainly more famous for his exploits as a manager, he had a relatively successful career in the lower leagues, playing as a goalkeeper for Tranmere, Wigan and Bangor City.

He spent the majority of his career with the Latics and played over 150 times for the side between 1986 and 1993.

Along with the 155 appearances for Wigan, Adkins also played 86 times for Tranmere and 95 times for Bangor.

He started his managerial career in Wales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Adkins has built a respectable career as a manager in the Football League, he actually learned his trade with Welsh side Bangor City.

A three-year spell with the Welsh side as player-manager is where the Birkenhead-born manager started his managerial career, winning the Welsh Premier League title in 1994 and 1995 before leaving the club in 1996.

He has a degree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving Bangor, Adkins went to study physiotherapy at the University of Salford and spent some time away from the game.

Not many footballers go back to education after retiring as a player and Adkins is part of a select few who has done so and earned himself a degree, something which would help him get back into football.

He joined Scunthorpe as a physio before becoming the manager

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When a manager leaves the club and a caretaker is appointed, the man in charge is usually the previous assistant manager or an experienced coach within the club.

However, The Iron appointed their physio as the caretaker and Adkins was given the role full-time and enjoyed a four year spell with them, winning promotion twice with them.

This unusual caretaker appointment led to Scunthorpe's fans chanting "Who needs Mourinho, we've got our physio!"

He holds a unique record

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While managing Southampton, Adkins guided The Saints to back-to-back promotions as he led them from League One to the Premier League in just three years.

He is the only manager in Southampton's long history to do so and he well stay in the record books for some time.