promotion and playoff places in Division Three for much of the 2002–03 season, but a slight dip in form during the final weeks of the season saw them finish eighth in the final table—one place short of the playoffs. A lively start to the 2003–04 season saw Oxford United leading the Division Three table at Christmas with just one defeat in over 20 fixtures. Atkins was suspended in March 2004 and then dismissed the following month for talking to Bristol Rovers about the possibility of taking over as manager, which he subsequently did. Atkins was at Bristol Rovers for just over a year, and he was sacked after a disappointing start to the 2005–06 season. He returned to management in April 2006 when tasked with the seemingly impossible task of keeping Torquay United in the Football League, after joining the club as an advisor to John Cornforth the previous month. However, a run of four straight wins and a draw on the last day of the season lifted Torquay out of the relegation zone, and then Atkins was appointed manager for the following season. However, on 27 November 2006, Atkins was replaced as manager by Czech international star Luboš Kubík. Atkins was offered the role of Director of Football, but turned it down. Since leaving Torquay, Atkins went on to work as a recruitment officer throughout Europe for Sunderland, including scout work for a number of other clubs, and joined BBC Radio Suffolk as a summariser for their coverage of Ipswich Town games for the 2009–10 season. He spent four years as head of recruitment at Everton before taking on the role of head of European recruitment at Aston Villa in 2016. As of August 2019 he is currently a scout at Wolverhampton Wanderers Managerial statistics All statistics referenced by: References Honours Player Shrewsbury Town Welsh Cup: 1976–77, 1978–79 Division Three: 1978–79 Division Four promotion: 1974–75 Everton European Cup Winners' Cup: 1984–85 Division One: 1984–85 FA Charity Shield: 1985 Birmingham City Division Three promotion: 1991–92 Manager Northampton Town Third Division play-offs: 1996–97 Individual League Two Manager of the Month: April 2006 External links 1957 births Living people People from Sheldon Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Association football utility players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Everton F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Cambridge