Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley receives just reward for near faultless form - but faces competition from rivals at Wigan, Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday to award

It comes after the 43-year-old transformed his side from sliding perilously close to the relegation zone to play-off contenders with 13 points from five matches.

The Blues kicked off an unbeaten month with a 1-1 draw with Cheltenham at Fratton Park, before achieving four consecutive successes against Wycombe, AFC Wimbledon, Lincoln, and Gillingham.

But perhaps the most eye-catching result came against his former side at Sincil Bank, where the visitors executed a near-perfect away plan to humble the Imps 3-0.

Although Cowley’s record stands out among the other nominees, he may face stiff competition to the accolade.

Alongside Cowley in the running is Wigan boss Leam Richardson, who proved that management is more than just results across November.

The former Pompey assistant coach acted instinctively to resuscitate Charlie Wyke last month, after the striker suffered a cardiac arrest in training.

Wyke is thankfully in a stable condition and credited his manager and club doctor Jonathan Tobin with saving his life.

Joining Cowley and Richardson are Sheffield Wednesday’s Darren Moore and Oxford United’s Karl Robinson.

The former has addressed the issues that had blunted the Owls’ promotion bid by matching 11 points and a League One-high 11 goals from five unbeaten games. This has seen the Yorkshire side join the Blues in a play-off push – while nothing could separate the two sides in yesterday’s 0-0 draw.

The latter has dealt expertly with a covid outbreak at the KASAM Stadium to keep the Us in top-six contention. A return of five points from three matches may not look outstanding to the naked eye, but taking into consideration the hard work from management and players alike - the former MK Dons boss is rightfully on the list.

With the winner being announced on Friday, Cowley is hoping to become the first Fratton Park chief to claim the award since Paul Cook’s April 2017 League Two Manager of the Month victory.

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