Editing Ron Atkinson (section)

===Coventry City===
Three months after being sacked by Villa, Atkinson became manager at [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]] replacing [[Phil Neal]], who was purposely and acrimoniously sacked to make way for him. He took over in mid-February 1995, with the Sky Blues just above the Premier League relegation zone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadgen.asp?Day=11&Month=Feb&ssnno=124&teamno=164 |title=Coventry City FC News – Coventry MAD |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |date=11 February 1995 |access-date=29 July 2011}}</ref> His new team managed some good results, including a 4–2 home win over local rivals [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]], a 3–2 away win over [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] and a point against a [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] side who ended the season as champions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fixtures/Results – Coventry City FC – Coventry MAD |url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=124&teamno=164 |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |access-date=29 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005062322/http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=124&teamno=164 |archive-date=5 October 2011  }}</ref> With survival looking certain several games before the season ended, Atkinson was named [[Premier League Manager of the Month]] for March 1995. The penultimate game of the season brought another fine result when the Sky Blues travelled to [[North London]] and beat [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] 3–1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadgen.asp?Day=17&Month=Apr&ssnno=124&teamno=164 |title=Coventry City FC News – Coventry MAD |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |date=17 April 1995 |access-date=29 July 2011}}</ref> Survival was finally confirmed as Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to a 16th-place finish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadgen.asp?Day=14&Month=May&ssnno=124&teamno=164 |title=Coventry City FC News – Coventry MAD |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |date=14 May 1995 |access-date=29 July 2011}}</ref>

In December 1995, Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to one of their best results of the 1990s, a 5–0 home win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fixtures/Results – Coventry City FC – Coventry MAD |url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=125&teamno=164 |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |access-date=29 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005062400/http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=125&teamno=164 |archive-date=5 October 2011  }}</ref> During his spell as manager of Coventry, he brought in high-profile players including [[Gordon Strachan]], [[Noel Whelan (footballer)|Noel Whelan]] and [[Gary McAllister]] (although in his autobiography he states that this latter signing was Strachan's initiative and he was opposed for tactical reasons) but they continued to struggle in the Premier League and in November 1996 he became Director of Football, handing over managerial duties to Strachan, who by then had retired as a player and had become assistant manager.