8:15am Thursday 9th September 2010
NIGEL Adkins has accepted an offer to become the new manager of Saints, Scunthorpe chairman Steve Wharton has revealed.
The 45-year-old has been in been talks with the club this week and is close to being unveiled as Alan Pardew's successor.
Wharton confirmed this morning Adkins, along with his trusted assistant Andy Crosby, had accepted an offer, although the deal is yet to be completely finalised and announced by Saints.
"The club has given permission for manager Nigel Adkins to speak to Southampton," a statement from Scunthorpe said.
"Nigel and his assistant Andy Crosby have agreed terms with the Saints but the club have yet to agree a compensation package with the League One side.
"The club will update fans as and when there's more information."
There is still the issue of compensation to sort out and possibly one or two other potential stumbling blocks.
The club had made no secret they wanted the new man in before Saturday’s League One trip to rock-bottom Swindon after Pardew's controversial sacking last week.
Scunthorpe had remained tight-lipped about speculation linking Adkins with Saints ever since it arose.
Upwards of 30 applications from working managers alone were received by the club for the post.
But Adkins, a father-of-two who has one son on the books at Doncaster, looks set to be the one to take Saints on.
He started his career as a goalkeeper at Tranmere, before moving to Wigan.
Injury ended his professional playing days at the age of 28, leading him to take up the reins as manager at Welsh side Bangor City.
In his two seasons there, Adkins led his team to a pair of titles and took them to the qualifying stages of the Champions League.
He then joined Scunthorpe as a trained physiotherapist in 1996.
Ten years on, after the departure of long-serving manager Brian Laws, Adkins was appointed boss on a caretaker basis.
After a blistering run of form, it took only a month for him to be handed the job permanently.
In 2007, he guided Scunthorpe into the second tier of English professional football for the first time in 43 years.
Although they were relegated the following season, Adkins impressively rebuilt the squad and took them back to the Championship, via the play-offs, in May 2009.
In that same season, when young Saint Joseph Mills was on loan at Glanford Park, the Iron also got to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final, losing 3-2 to Luton.
But perhaps Adkins’ most remarkable achievement was to keep Scunthorpe in the Championship last campaign.
He achieved that despite operating on a shoestring budget and with a ground that boasted an average attendance of just 6,383 – some 14,559 less than Saints had in League One and a staggering 37,004 less than Championship winners Newcastle achieved.
His record as a manager in the third tier is hugely impressive, with 40 victories from 75 games, giving him a win percentage of 53.3 per cent.
Adkins is considered something of a hero in Scunthorpe and he will undoubtedly be sorely missed at Glanford Park.
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