Championship "Manager of the Month" Nominees

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Iain Dowie unforunately not one of the nominees. A week ago, with two home games to come, Dowie looked a shoe in..


Steve Coppell, McCarthy, Owen Coyle and Paul Sturrock are the Championship Nominees for September Manager of the Month


Football League - THE NOMINATIONS ARE IN

The nominations have now been announced for the Coca-Cola Championship Manager of the Month, following Tuesday's full programme of games.

Reading inflicted leaders' Wolverhampton Wanderers first defeat of the season, with a 3-0 win at Molineux.

The win takes the Royal's tally to three wins, one draw and one defeat for the month, earning Steve Coppell a nomination.

Despite the defeat against Reading Mick McCarthy's side still top the Championship, with an impressive 22 points from nine games. McCarthy was named Manager of the Month for August and his sides' 4 wins and one defeat could earn him the award again.

Also nominated is Burnley manager Owen Coyle, whose side manager four wins and one draw in September, as well as knocking Premier League side Fulham out of the Carling Cup. It is a massive turnaround after the Clarets failed to win a league game in August.

Paul Sturrock makes up the four nominees after his Plymouth side finished the month with an impressive 10 points from five games, winning three, drawing one and losing one. The wins came away at Watford and Crystal Palace and home to Nottingham Forest leaving the Pilgrims in 12th.

With Oldham Athletic and Scunthorpe United currently sharing top spot in Coca-Cola League 1, it's no surprise that both John Sheridan and Nigel Adkins are up for this month's award.

Oldham won two and drew two of their four matches, with the wins coming away at Tranmere Rovers and home against Milton Keynes Dons.

Scunthorpe on the other hand have won all four matches to surge up the table. The wins came away at Brighton & Hove Albion and Hereford United and at home against Carlisle and Yeovil.

Millwall are another team to have won all four matches, so Manager Kenny Jackett also deserves his nomination, securing wins over Hartlepool United, Leicester City, Cheltenham Town and Swindon Town. The Lions currently sit fourth in the table on joint points with third placed Leeds United.

Gary McAllister understandably makes up the nominees, after his Leeds side kept up their impressive start to the season with four league wins over Crewe Alexandra, Swindon, Carlisle United and Hereford United. They also progressed to Round 4 of the Carling Cup with a 4-3 win over Hartlepool.

There are also joint table toppers in Coca-Cola League 2 with Bury and Wycombe Wanderers sharing top spot and both Alan Knill and Peter Taylor are amongst September's nominees.

Both teams are the other ones in the division to remain unbeaten, with Bury having won two and drawn two, including Saturday's goalless game with Wycombe.

Wanderers' results mirror those of Bury, with wins over Rochdale and Dagenham & Redbridge and a draw with Brentford completing their run in September.

Brentford boss Andy Scott is also amongst the nominees after his side also won two and drew two of their four matches. The Bees' 1-0 win over Chesterfield on Saturday saw them move up to fourth in the League 2 table.

Keith Alexander completes the nominees after his Macclesfield Town side won three of their four matches in September. The Silkmen had failed to pick up a single point or even score a single league goal in August but a 2-1 win over Luton on September 6th kick-started their season. They went on to beat Bournemouth and Port Vale before losing to Exeter last weekend.

All winners will be announced on Thursday, live on Sky Sports News at 1.20pm, as well as www.football-league.co.uk.

Nominations Summary:

Championship
Paul Sturrock (Plymouth Argyle)
Mick McCarthy (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Steve Coppell (Reading)
Owen Coyle (Burnley)

League 1
John Sheridan (Oldham Athletic)
Kenny Jackett (Millwall)
Gary McAllister (Leeds United)
Nigel Adkins (Scunthorpe United)

League 2
Andy Scott (Brentford)
Peter Taylor (Wycombe Wanderers)
Keith Alexander (Macclesfield Town)
Alan Knill (Bury)

Football League