The March nominations for the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month Award are:
Michael Carrick (Middlesbrough)
The new manager bounce at the Riverside is now a misnomer, yet Middlesbrough continue to soar under Carrick, despatching Reading 5-0 and Preston 4-0 as they collected another 10 points and 13 goals from four March games.
Rob Edwards (Luton Town)
Edwards’ side didn’t concede a goal from open play to continue their quiet ascent towards the automatic promotion places with 10 points from four games. Their will to win earned three 1-0 victories, including one at second-placed Sheffield United.
Alex Neil (Stoke City)
Could Stoke finally be showing the consistency that Neil craves? A difficult looking fixture list against four promotion contenders saw them go unbeaten and collect eight points, most impressively in a convincing 5-1 win at Sunderland.
Mark Robins (Coventry City)
Coventry’s players respond to the quiet assurance of Robins. He inspired the Sky Blues to eight points from four unbeaten games, three away from home, with a 10-3 goals differential and scoring four at both Huddersfield and Blackpool.
The March nominations for the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month Award are:
Chuba Akpom (Middlesbrough) - striker
Pushed hard by his Boro teammates in a free-scoring month at the Riverside, the dynamic Akpom still stood out through the consistency of his contributions. He scored in every one of his four games – five goals and an assist in total.
Viktor Gyokeres (Coventry City) - striker
Three goals and three assists in four games for the Swede in spite of attracting ever more defenders to him. He remains too quick and smart for them, with a mazy run for an assist at Hull and a delightful dinked finish at Huddersfield.
Ki-Jana Hoever (Stoke City) – full-back
The young Dutchman played at right back and on the left wing in March, and had a key role in Stoke’s resurgence. Adding width to his pace and skill, he scored three goals, two at the end of lung-bursting runs against Blackburn.
Nathan Tella (Burnley) - striker
Tella’s five goals in four games – two against Wigan and a beguiling hat-trick four days later at Hull – were testimony to his happy knack of getting across defenders at the right moment added to his razor-sharp finishing instincts.
