Nigel Adkins wants long-term crack at the job

Mike Phelan, Marco Silva and Leonid Slutsky have all been and gone, with the revolving managerial door at the KCOM Stadium having contrasted markedly with the assuredness and security that were bywords of the memorable four-year era under Bruce.

That sense of continuity is something that Adkins is striving to replicate with his devout hope being that time is afforded him in his own project work.

Speaking ahead of the televised encounter with Bruce’s Villa, Adkins, appointed as Slutsky’s replacement in early December, said: “I have said it all along, you need stability if you are going to build something.

“I speak with several managers and they say the same thing. They can be doing well, but it might have taken them three years to get the squad of players they wanted.

“You have to get through the transfer windows and get your philosophies across. That takes a period of time.

“We are in a world, unfortunately, where time is not something people want to allow. It is what it is, you have got to accept it and keep doing the right things.”

Adkins has confirmed that midfielder Evandro is back in his native Brazil receiving medical treatment and will not feature over Easter.

He said: “Evandro has gone back to Brazil to get some treatment and is due back next week.

“I hope we will see him playing again this season as he is a talented footballer.

“We are doing everything we can to get him right.

“He has had a long history with injury, hasn’t he? We have got to get to the bottom of it and we have got to get it right because he is such a talented player.”