Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne has been named as the Sky Bet League One Manager Of The Month for December 2023.
Warne has landed the honour following a near-perfect month which saw the Rams pick up 13 points out of a possible 15 in the league.
December started with a 3-0 victory on the road at Leyton Orient before the only match during the month that the Rams failed to win came a week later with a 1-1 draw against Wycombe Wanderers at Pride Park Stadium.
Derby responded from the late draw with three victories to finish the month and a 3-1 home victory over Lincoln City was followed up by a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day.
December was rounded off with the dramatic comeback win at Oxford
United. After going two goals behind early doors, the Rams rallied to
complete a 3-2 comeback win and tighten the team's grip on the top six.
Warne saw off strong competition for the award including Peterborough United's Darren Ferguson, Barnsley's Neill Collins and Matt Taylor of Bristol Rovers.
Warne said: “It is an award for everyone, not myself, and a reflection of how well the players performed over the course of the month. The team has been performing well, getting positive results and we’ve been on the good end of moments in games. Those magical moments are what gets the team the recognition for doing well. The credit goes to all the staff and the players; it is more than just a Manager of the Month award.”
Brian Laws, Technical Manager at the LMA, chaired the judging panel for December and he said: “Derby County had a near flawless month under the guidance of Paul Warne in which they amassed 13 points including three wins away from home. They backed up their points total with an outstanding 14 goals scored.”
Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Don Goodman said: “Derby County are the form team in League One and Paul Warne deserves a lot of credit for turning their season around after a slow start by their standards.
“December was almost perfect for Warne’s side, securing 13 points from a possible 15 including dramatic comeback against promotion rivals Oxford United.”
