EVERYONE KNOWS THE saviour story with Mark Robins by now.
His whole football life can be distilled into one moment.
That goal, the one they say rescued Alex Ferguson’s job as Manchester United manager in January 1990.
His header against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup gave a struggling Fergie some respite at a time when the Old Trafford hierarchy were set to wield the axe after three largely unremarkable years.
When United lifted the trophy at the end of the season it was the catalyst for dominance over the course of the next three decades.
Robins is now 53, five years older than Ferguson was at the time of his rescue act, and the Coventry City manager is on the verge of an achievement that deserves to be lauded in its own right.
He has helped steer what has been a basket case of a club from the bottom tier of the English Football League towards a return to the Premier League.
Since relegation from the top flight in 2001, and then leaving their home at Highfield Road when it was sold for housing redevelopment four years later, Coventry have suffered a myriad of problems which threatened its existence.
A move to the Ricoh Arena – now the Coventry Building Society Arena – has proven disastrous.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group took ownership of the ground from English rugby union club Wasps when their operating companies went into administration, and an eviction notice served in the middle of this Championship campaign was another threat to Robins’ fantastic work.
Somehow, they still made the play-offs, and this afternoon they will face Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough in the first-leg of their semi-final on their home turf.
Not that it has truly felt like it.
There were ground shares with Northampton Town and Birmingham City after London-based hedge fund Sisu capital prevented the club from being wound up in 2007.
Even Burton Albion were relied upon to stage a Carabao Cup tie when their own pitch was deemed unplayable as a result of the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby 7s tournament taking place their last summer.
This is just some of what Robins has had to deal with in his second stint in charge – having been at the helm for one season a decade ago.
In his current six-year stint, only Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have lasted longer in a job in the Premier League, while in the EFL Harrogate Town’s Simon Weaver (14 years) and former Sligo Rovers boss John Coleman at Accrington Stanley (eight years) lead the way for longevity.
Robins’ achievements, though, could soon be unrivalled should he complete a hat-trick of promotions with the same club, leading them from League Two to the Premier League.
It’s a feat his former captain at Rotherham United, Graham Coughlan, hopes he can pull off given the impact he had on the Dubliner’s life when Robins was only beginning his managerial career in 2007.
Coughlan’s younger brother had passed away and he was packing his bags to return home. He wanted to end a career that began with Bray Wanderers in 1994 and saw him sign for Sheffield Wednesday before spells with Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley, eventually linking up with Robins at Rotherham.
“It was probably the worst period of my life,” Coughlan tells The 42.
“My bloody life was coming apart to be honest with you. I was an emotional wreck and Mark Robins rescued me. On the field and off field I was in that dark place.
“Mark Robins was the one who came and put an arm around me. He was able to settle me down and spoke to me about coming through it all.
“He was a real inspiration for me,” Coughlan, who was made captain by Robins, adds.
“He got me back to the land of the living after my kid brother. If it wasn’t for him I was ready to leave the game completely. I really was an emotional wreck but he was so passionate, caring and understanding.
“Don’t get me wrong, if you weren’t reaching the standards he would expect of you he would let you know, but I honestly can’t remember him getting irate, he didn’t deal with it that way. He was able to make his point without getting angry.”
Former Ireland international David Meyler recounted in his joint autobiography with his father John how Robins helped him rediscover his passion and buzz for football during a short spell with Coventry in 2019 after being left demoralised by his treatment at Reading.
They just missed out on promotion that year but went up as champions the following campaign.
Not that it has been all plain sailing, of course. Robins was shown the door by Scunthorpe United in his last post before returning to Coventry and embarking on this incredible journey.
Ironically, another Dubliner, striker Paddy Madden who is also aiming for promotion to League One through the play-offs with Stockport County, also recalls a match with Middlesbrough, although it was in far different circumstances.
“I remember it was coming towards the end of the season and he [Robins], called me over and was like ‘I’ve got a surprise for you’. I’m thinking it’s a new deal but he goes ‘how does Marbella sound for pre-season?’
“I was like, ‘happy days, great’. I think he has a place over there ya see. So we went and played Middlesbrough, who had a load of big hitters, and they popped us, played around us for fun but we never stopped running. We kept at them.
“He came in after was like ‘lads, great work, great work, go out and enjoy yourselves tonight. No curfew’. Stuff like that, you would run through brick walls for him in a season. He treated you like a grown up.”
Coughlan backs that up. “He wouldn’t stress, he would keep players calm and remind them of what they’re good at and what he felt they were capable of.
“He lifted you up and would also remind you that the most important thing in football is to surround yourself with good people.”
Mark Robins is one of them.
