Claudio Ranieri wins LMA and Premier League Manager of the Year
Tuesday 17 May 2016 10:11, UK
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has been named Manager of the Year by the League Managers Association (LMA).
The 64-year-old Italian becomes just the second non-British manager to claim the prestigious accolade after Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, who won it in both 2002 and 2004.
And Ranieri was also named the Premier League Manager of the Year at Monday night's awards dinner in London.
The popular boss was a deserving and unsurprising winner of the awards, having guided the Foxes to a remarkable Premier League title success.
Leicester struggled for much of the 2014/15 campaign but produced a superb run of form towards the end of the season to survive comfortably, before hiring the experienced Ranieri in the summer to replace Nigel Pearson.
It was thought Ranieri might struggle in the post, having been sacked by Greece in November 2014 after a loss to the Faroe Islands, but he promptly oversaw an incredible campaign which ended with Leicester 10 points clear at the top of the table, having lost just three games all season.
LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said: "Leicester's achievement has been made possible by the tactical and technical knowledge of Claudio and his coaching staff.
"His passion for football, humility and charisma has underpinned an incredible ability to manage a team at the very highest level. He is a worthy champion and a true gentleman of the sport."
Ranieri said: "As a player I was not a champion, but I had great heart. I told my players I wanted them to play English football and I put my little Italian tactics with their English heart and then we can do something special.
"They followed me. It is a fairytale and I don't know what has happened. I don't know, believe me."
The LMA's Championship award went to Chris Hughton of Brighton, on the night the Seagulls were knocked out of the play-offs by Sheffield Wednesday.
Hughton was a worthy winner of the award nonetheless, having masterminded a superb campaign down on the south coast.
Third-place finishers Brighton only missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference and they accumulated a points total which would have been enough for promotion in many seasons.
Wigan did manage to secure promotion from League One and their boss Gary Caldwell won the award for that division.
The Latics bounced back to the Championship at the first attempt after a strong second half of the season helped them to claim the title by two points.
Chris Wilder was named the LMA League Two manager of the year after Northampton cruised to the title in the fourth tier by 13 points.
Wilder will be managing in League One next season but with a different club, having taken charge at Sheffield United following his excellent performance with the Cobblers.
