Saturday 7 March 2015 09:32, UK
Nottingham Forest and Watford are both in line for an award double after the clubs were nominated in the Manager and Player of the Month categories for February in the Sky Bet Championship.
New Forest boss Dougie Freedman and midfielder Henri Lansbury are up for honours, as are Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic and striker Odion Ighalo.
Wolves boss Kenny Jackett and Norwich’s new manager Alex Neil are competing with Freedman and Jokanovic for the managerial award, while Derby winger Tom Ince, who is on loan from Hull, and Leeds goalkeeper Marco Silvestri are the other nominations for the players’ award.
The Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month nominees for February are...
Dougie Freedman (Nottingham Forest)
A rampaging start to his tenure at the City Ground with Forest collecting 16 points from 18 and averaging over three goals per game in spite of losing top scorer Britt Assombalonga. Freedman trusts his players and has given them back their confidence.
Kenny Jackett (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Jackett has quietly brought Wolves up towards the play-off places with four wins from six games and a 14-5 goal differential, forging an attacking spearhead on to a solid defensive foundation.
Slavisa Jokanovic (Watford)
Of his side’s five victories in February, three of them were comeback wins away from home - at Brentford, Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United. With a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, Jokanovic clearly fancies his players to outscore the opposition.
Alex Neil (Norwich City)
Largely unknown prior to arriving at Carrow Road from Hamilton Academicals, Neil has galvanised the players and demanded a consistency which brought five convincing February wins in as many games.
The Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month nominees for February are...
Odion Ighalo (Watford)
A second straight nomination for the instinctive marksman who scored six goals in five games. Displayed his full array of finishing with a snapshot against Blackburn Rovers, a header and a volley at Brentford and a smooth strike at Bolton Wanderers.
Tom Ince (Derby County)
Ince has rediscovered his zest since his move to Derby County. His superb free-kick against Bolton Wanderers triggered a string of classy goals, with a neat curler at Rotherham United the other pick of his five, while his movement created holes for others.
Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest)
The fulcrum of Forest’s stellar February with goals in five successive games - including two free-kicks and a stunning curler against Wigan Athletic - allied to defensive diligence, consistency and a new maturity as he assumed the captaincy.
Marco Silvestri (Leeds United)
An all-action month for the Italian who spent it diving all over the place in a one-man show of defiance. Fine reaction saves against Brentford, Reading and Brighton were bettered by a series of stops to preserve a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough.
