Thursday 9 February 2017 07:04, UK
Reading boss Jaap Stam and Norwich manager Alex Neil are among the nominees for the Sky Bet Championship manager of the month award for January.
The Royals have enjoyed an impressive campaign so far and January saw them take four victories from six games, with Stam's team in the play-off places and still chasing Brighton and Newcastle for automatic promotion in third.
Highlights for Reading and Stam included a win at Bristol City when they were 2-0 down with 18 minutes left and an away victory at Birmingham towards the end of the month.
Neil's Norwich City side had endured a poor pre-Christmas run but the Scotsman refused to buckle under the pressure as his team dropped out of the play-off places.
He kept belief in his players and principles to inspire a nine-point haul from four January games that has pulled the Canaries back into the promotion hunt.
Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Paul Lambert has also been nominated for the award after they took seven points from four difficult fixtures throughout the month.
January also included FA Cup wins at Stoke and over Liverpool at Anfield but victories at Barnsley and at home to Aston Villa have helped to propel Wolves away from the relegation places in the table.
Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock is also up for the award after his side collected 12 points from six games in a busy January in which his messages began to sink into his players.
Organisation and spirit have been evident in all his teams and both those traits were obvious in Cardiff's 3-2 comeback win at Bristol City.
Elsewhere, the nominations for the Championship player of the month have also been announced.
Leeds striker Chris Wood enjoyed a prolific month, with the 25-year-old scoring six goals in four games to help maintain his status as the symbol of his club's on-field renaissance.
He showed variety in his finishing throughout January, with tap-ins, towering headers and a beautiful chest control and volley against Rotherham.
Ipswich Town midfielder Tom Lawrence has also been nominated after he scored four and set up the other of Ipswich's five goals, with his silky effort at Preston topping even the long-range strikes against Blackburn and QPR in his personal goal of the month competition.
Joe Ralls is fast becoming Cardiff City's midfield general and his work ethic and enthusiasm were vital for his side throughout the month. His two goals in January included the winner against Aston Villa.
Brighton goalkeeper David Stockdale has earned his second successive nomination after his agility and reactions proved vital in all three of his side's wins in January.
Busy against Cardiff, a penalty save at Fulham was bettered by his remarkable penalty double save against Sheffield Wednesday.
