Sir Alex Ferguson's Man United saviour brutally sacked from manager job after seven-year stint

Former Manchester United star Mark Robins has been sacked by Championship club Coventry City.

Robins spent four years at United having come through the ranks in the club's academy. He has often been credited for saving Sir Alex Ferguson's career at Old Trafford after his goal secured a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the 1990 FA Cup third round tie.

It is often claimed that had United not won that game, Ferguson's time at the club would have ended right there and then. Instead, the Scot went on to become a legend in Manchester and retired in 2013 as a hero.

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As for Robins, his spell at Old Trafford ended in 1992 and he has found more fame as a manager in later years. He joined Coventry in 2017 with the club languishing in the bottom reaches of the EFL.

But in his seven years in the West Midlands, he managed to mastermind promotion out of League Two and League One before securing them as a solid Championship club. Last season, he pushed United all the way in the FA Cup semi-finals only to lose on penalties after fighting back from 3-0 down.

He also recently led the Sky Blues to the Championship play-off final where they lost out to Luton Town. However, a bad start to the Championship this season sees Robins' now former club sit above the relegation zone only by virtue of goal difference.

Wednesday night's 2-1 home defeat to Derby County proved to be his last match in charge of the club with Coventry City making the decision to part ways on Thursday. Announcing the ex-United man's departure, Coventry wrote in a statement: "There is no doubt that Coventry City today would not be where it is today without the inspired actions of Mark and his team.

"The club is well aware that this is a difficult moment after over seven very successful years at the helm and this decision is not taken lightly. The performance of the team over an extended period however has just not been good enough and as such the board of the club has decided to make an immediate change in leadership.

"We all wish Mark the best of luck for the future."