Portsmouth boss vies with controversial Southampton coach for honour after charge up Championship
The Pompey boss has been shortlisted along with Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Southampton men.
John Mousinho has been shortlisted for the Championship’s manager of the month award.
The Blues boss is in the running for the honour, after overseeing his side’s impressive turnaround in form last month.
Mousinho will vie with Southampton head coach, Tonda Eckert, who has also received a nomination. Middlesbrough’s Kim Hellberg and Birmingham City’s Chris Davies are the other bosses in the running.
Mousinho makes Championship manager of the month shortlist
.jpeg?trim=0,0,0,0&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
The Pompey head coach has kickstarted his team’s upturn in results in recent weeks, responding to a challenging run of fixtures with an outstanding six-game unbeaten run.
Four runs and two draws were harvested in that time, coming as part of a run of a single loss in 10 games stretching back to the start of September.
Ironically, it’s the 1-0 loss to Southampton in the south-coast derby which has sparked the upturn in Pompey’s fortunes, with 14 points collected from a possible 18 before the weekend defeat to Stoke City.
Southampton enjoyed a strong October, collecting 13 points from a possible 13 as they remained unbeaten
League leaders Birmingham collected wins at Lincoln and West Brom on the way to 12 points across the same period. Meanwhile, Boro smashed in 14 goals on the way to 13 points from five October fixtures.
Mousinho has not shied away from the significance of the Southampton loss - and the importance of his side’s response on their season.
Asking if the south-coast derby will be a defining moment, he said last month: ‘We’ll see, but certainly at the moment it feels like that off the back of the past three games.
‘We’ve now got four games in the build-up to the international break which are absolutely massive for us.
‘They are going to shape the season in terms of what we’re going to do and where we’re going to be in the final reckoning.
‘Obviously it’s far too early still for that to be decided, but it’s certainly going to give us a good indication of where we’re at.
‘I think that block of games, that block of seven games up to the international break in response to the derby, will give us a really good sign of where the season is going.’
The panel who decide the winner of the award consists of former Barnsley boss Danny Wilson and ex-Wolves striker Don Goodman. The manger of the month results are expected to be announced tomorrow morning.
For your next Pompey read: Transfer gossip: Sheffield United eye Chelsea starlet Kavuma-McQueen as status soars amid thriving Portsmouth stay