Derby County boss Phillip Cocu has been nominated for the Sky Bet Championship ‘Manager of the Month’ award for January.
Derby enjoyed a positive run of results during the first month of the calendar year, picking up ten points from a possible 15 on offer.
They recorded three successive wins at Pride Park Stadium during January to maintain their impressive home form.
A 2-1 victory against Barnsley got 2020 off to flying start, while Cocu’s side also overcame Hull City 1-0 midway through the month.
The Rams rounded off January with an emphatic 4-0 thrashing of Stoke City last Friday as they produced, arguably, their best performance of the campaign to date.
Derby also recorded a creditable 2-2 draw on the road at Middlesbrough during the month, while their only defeat in January came in a 3-2 reverse at Luton Town.
In addition to their Championship form, Derby defeated Premier League side Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round before being held to a 0-0 draw at League 2 promotion chasers Northampton Town in the Fourth Round.
Sky Bet Championship Manager Of The Month Nominees: January 2020
Phillip Cocu (Derby County)
Fitting a huge personality like Wayne Rooney into a team offers opportunities, but presents man management issues as well. Cocu handled them so well in January that Derby managed 10 points and 11 goals from five games.
Lee Johnson (Bristol City)
It is not the manner of your defeats, but how you learn from them which counts. A 4-0 home defeat by promotion rivals Brentford on New Year’s Day was followed by three gritty narrow wins, all without conceding a goal.
Sabri Lamouchi (Nottingham Forest)
The constancy of his message gave his players the confidence to come through an awful run at the end of 2019 and emerge refreshed in January, collecting 11 points from five unbeaten games and climbing into third place.
Michael O’Neill (Stoke City)
O’Neill speaks and acts with authority. Couple that with sensitivity to his players’ needs and a practical approach to winning games and the Northern Irishman has adapted perfectly to life at Stoke, as 10 points from five games testify.
The Sky Bet Manager of the Month judging panel comprises former Barnsley manager Danny Wilson, Sky Sports’ EFL expert Don Goodman; EFL Communications Director Mark Rowan, and Sky Bet EFL trader Ivor Davies.
ALL WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2020.
