Jaap Stam Nominated For EFL Championship Manager Of The Month Award

Reading manager Jaap Stam is one of four nominees for the manager of the month award in the Sky Bet EFL Championship after a strong September in which his team picked up three wins from five games to rise to eighth in the league table.

A late 2-1 win against Ipswich kicked off the month in front of the Sky cameras before a 0-0 draw against Birmingham followed by wins over promotion chasing Barnsley (2-1) and league leaders Huddersfield (1-0) which meant Reading were on an unbeaten run of six league games and up to fourth in the standings.

September may have ended with a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Brentford, but 10 points from a possible 15 is a tally only bettered by two other teams in the division - Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday (both 12 points).

The bosses of the Canaries and Owls, Alex Neil and Carlos Carvahal, are also nominated for the award, along with Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, who like Stam guided his team to 10 points last month.

We will find out whether Stam has won the accolade tomorrow morning. Coincidentally, Steve Clarke was also nominated for the September manager of the month award last season but would win just three more games before getting the sack in mid December.