Nathan Jones has been nominated for Championship Manager of the Month for August – with Lloyd Jones up for the player version.
It is absolutely no surprise to see the Charlton Athletic boss on the list of potential winners with his team the only side in the division to have won all three of their matches.
The Addicks kicked off their league season with a 2-1 victory over Derby County at The Valley and followed up with an excellent display to inflict a defeat on title favourites West Ham United at London Stadium.
Karlan Grant scored the only goal in their final Championship fixture of the opening month as they defeated Preston North End 1-0 in SE7.
At that stage Charlton were top of the table and the only team with a 100 per cent record.
Also up for the accolade are Vitor Matos (Swansea City), Cesar Peixoto (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and Julien Stephan (Queens Park Rangers). Those other managers all saw their sides bank seven points out of nine.
“It is always nice to have these kinds of things but if you get nominated for a manager of the month it means your team have played well and you have picked up points,” Jones told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition.
“So for that reason I would love 10 nominations. I don’t care if I win or not, although it is always nice to win, but if you have 10 nominations it means you are in a wonderful place. The more nominations you have, it means your team has been in the top four points-takers in that month.
“We took the highest points in August, I don’t think anyone else won three. I couldn’t ask for more than that.”
It looks a certainty that Jones, who won the 2020-21 Championship Manager of the Year while at Luton Town, will get the award when nobody can match, let alone better, Charlton’s results. And you have to factor in that they produced a stirring victory in east London against opposition who were in the Premier League last season.
Asked if it would be a head-scratcher if he did not receive it, the Welshman responded: “Well, I’ve had plenty of them.”
Centre-back Jones scored twice for Charlton in August, including an overhead kick to put the south Londoners ahead early on against West Ham.
Lloyd Jones runs off after scoring for Charlton against Derby County/Picture: Kyle Andrews
Also in the mix are two strikers – Middlesbrough’s Will Lankshear and Southampton’s Cyle Larin – who both scored four goals. Wolves’ Fer Lopez contributed two goals and two assists.
“Lloyd has been excellent,” said the Charlton boss. “I imagine there is a lot of competition for the award, but it shows we’ve had a good month if two people get nominated. The manager gets nominated because the team has played well. If individuals shine within that they then get nominated.
“August was a good month for us. We started well. Our only defeat came at Spurs when we made wholesale changes, which is no embarrassing thing.
“I’m very proud of what Lloyd has done. Mine is not a reflection on just the decisions I made or any kind of individual thing, it’s been because everyone has had to do really well – that is what the manager one is for.”
The winners will be announced on Friday morning.
Main picture: Nathan Jones celebrates victory at West Ham/Picture: Kyle Andrews
