During this period, he scored a goal against Nottingham Forest in a 1989–90 FA Cup tie that has subsequently been credited with "saving" manager Alex Ferguson's job at Old Trafford.
Robins also played across Europe during spells with Copenhagen, Ourense, and Panionios before finishing his career with Burton Albion in the Conference National.
In the 2023–24 season saw Robins lead Coventry to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1987, where they met his former club Manchester United.
On 19 November 1991, he collected a European Super Cup winner's medal (as an unused substitute) as United beat Red Star Belgrade in the game at Old Trafford.
[8] He left Manchester United for Norwich City for a fee of £800,000 where he played an important role in some of the club's greatest successes, including the remarkable win in the Olympiastadion against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup.
In his first game, his two goals helped Norwich defeat Arsenal 4–2 at Highbury on the opening day of the first ever Premier League season.
In 1994–95, after falling out with Norwich manager John Deehan, he was sold to Leicester City, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated to Division One.
[11] Robins returned to England when he signed for Walsall in the summer of 1999, and went on to score eight goals in 46 appearances in his one season at the club.
[17] In his brief spell at Bristol City, he scored five goals in eight appearances and helped his side reach the 2003 Football League Trophy Final.
[19] As he had done at Bristol City, Robins made an impressive debut for his new club in the Football League Trophy, scoring twice as Wednesday defeated Carlisle United.
[20] Robins ended his playing career at Conference side Burton Albion, whom he joined after leaving Sheffield Wednesday in 2004.
[26] After a spell of three wins in six games while in charge as caretaker manager, and moving the club off the bottom of League One,[27] Robins's position was made permanent on 6 April 2007.
Robins became a fan-favourite catapulting them up the league from relegation battlers to play-off contenders in the short time that he had been at the club.
On 12 February 2013, Coventry City released a statement saying they had allowed Robins to go into talks with Huddersfield Town about their vacant managerial position.
[29] His first game in charge came three days later, a 4–1 defeat to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fifth-round at John Smith's Stadium.
[30] On 19 February 2013, Robins took charge of his first league match as Huddersfield manager, a 6–1 defeat away from home against Nottingham Forest.
[35] After a run of two wins in eight games, Robins was sacked by Scunthorpe on 18 January 2016, leaving the club six points above the League One relegation zone.
[38] Robins won his first promotion as a manager after leading Coventry to a sixth-place finish in League Two, and winning the play-offs at Wembley.
[46] On 8 May 2021, Robins guided Coventry City to beat Millwall 6–1 to secure a 16th-place finish, in the club's first season return in the Championship in nine years.
The following season, Robins guided the Sky Blues to a 12th-place finish in the Championship, their highest league placing in over ten years.
The 2022–23 season under Robins' stewardship saw further improvement, having guided Coventry to a fifth-placed finish, which secured them a place in the Championship play-offs.
Coventry were ultimately unsuccessful in their bid for promotion to the Premier League, narrowly losing the penalty shootout in the final at Wembley against Luton Town, after playing out a 1–1 draw following extra time.
[48] In the 2023–24 season, Coventry reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1987, losing to Manchester United on penalties.
[51] Robins was appointed manager of Stoke City on 1 January 2025 on a three-and-a-half year contract, with Paul Nevin and James Rowberry as his assistants.