Rafael Benitez, Alex Neil in contention for Championship MOTM gong

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 06 October 2016

The four nominees for September's Championship Manager of the Month award are announced, with Rafael Benitez and Alex Neil among those in contention.

Rafael Benitez and Alex Neil are among the nominees for September's Manager of the Month award in the Championship after seeing their respective teams reach peak form.

Newcastle United boss Benitez guided his side to three wins and a draw from their five fixtures, including a 6-0 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers, while Neil presided over Norwich City's own impressive run which saw the Canaries climb into the automatic promotion zone.

City won four and lost one - a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Newcastle - while also scoring at least two goals in each of their outings during the profitable month.

Sheffield Wednesday's Carlos Carvalhal and Reading manager Jaap Stam are also in contention; the former guiding the Owls towards playoff contention following last term's near miss with four wins in five games.

Stam saw his Royals side claim 10 points from the 15 on offer, meanwhile, with his Dutch-influenced philosophy helping the club to their current position of eighth place in the table - two points adrift of the playoff zone.

The winner of the award, which was won by Huddersfield Town's David Wagner in August, will be announced on Friday, October 14.