Charlton boss Lee Bowyer and AFC Wimbledon striker Joe Pigott win in League One, while Newport boss Michael Flynn and goalkeeper Joe Day win in League Two.
Thursday 2 May 2019 20:02, UK
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has been named the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month for April.
While the Blades' automatic promotion rivals faltered, Wilder instilled a clarity of mind in his players that allowed them to ignore the glittering prize on offer and concentrate on collecting 14 points from six games, completing the job superbly.
Wilder said: "It has been a fantastic end to the season and we've been celebrating reaching our ultimate goal this week. It is a team effort, including the players, staff and supporters, and this award should be shared by all Unitedites."
Sky Sports' EFL pundit Don Goodman said: "April is the month when the pressure to get points reaches boiling point if you're in the hunt for promotion or striving to fend off relegation.
"The Blades started April two points behind Leeds and the question was who would stand strong and hold their nerve to take the second automatic promotion spot. After unsettling draws with Birmingham and Millwall, Wilder's man-management skills enabled him to rally his troops and win three straight games to nil. He is now, deservedly, a Premier League manager for the first time in his career.''
West Brom striker Dwight Gayle has been named the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month for April.
Gayle rediscovered his scoring touch just in time for the play-offs with six goals in as many games. His hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Preston was the highlight - three unerring finishes to prove his form.
Gayle said: "It's nice to win the award and I have got to give a big thank you to my team-mates as a lot of my goals have come from in the six-yard box, so there's a lot of great passes and great assists from the team.
"I want to be scoring as many goals as I can to help the team out and luckily this month was one of the months that I managed to score a few. Getting a hat-trick is nice and I'm going to have the ball to remember it by and hopefully I can get another one before the season finishes."
Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer has been named the Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month for April.
It would have been easy for him to allow his players to free-wheel towards the play-offs, but Bowyer still had eyes on automatic promotion. He drove his team on to win five of their six April games and almost achieve their goal.
Goodman said: "It's testament to Lee's managerial abilities that he's managed to reach the play-offs for a second consecutive season, bringing good times to the Valley in very difficult circumstances when that seemed impossible not that long ago.
"He is the fastest Charlton manager to reach 100 points since the inception of three points for a win in 1981. The shame is that they didn't start their incredible run just a few games earlier, as they've only just missed out on the automatic places. I'm sure Lee will galvanise his troops and hope to improve on last season's play-off efforts."
AFC Wimbledon striker Joe Pigott has been named the Sky Bet League One Player of the Month for April.
Pigott's immense contribution led to Wimbledon climbing out of the relegation zone for the first time since the autumn. He led the line with passion and scored five of his side's six goals in the month.
Pigott said: "It's an amazing achievement to get this award, but it's testament to how well that we've done as a team recently. I'm just happy to contribute as we try to pull off a great escape, but we need to get over the line on Saturday.
"I think the form I've shown since January is something I want to produce more of in the future. I've always known that I can score goals, but it's about doing the rest of the bits and pieces that are vital to the team."
Newport County manager Michael Flynn has been named the Sky Bet League Two Manager of the Month for April.
April began with Flynn dismissing the play-off places as too far away, but ended with Newport roaring into them as his ability to raise his players' performance levels shone through, with 15 points from seven games and just one goal conceded.
Flynn said: "It's a fantastic team effort, not just the boys on the pitch, it's the entire squad, the staff, I couldn't do it without them. It's a real team effort. I wish they were in the photo, but we'll have to do with just me and Joe."
Newport County goalkeeper Joe Day has been named the Sky Bet League Two Player of the Month for April.
A busy month for Newport was made easier by the form of Day who, astonishingly, kept six clean sheets and conceded just one goal in seven games. His shot-stopping ability was particularly sharp in the 0-0 draw with Swindon.
Day said: "I am delighted to receive this award, It's a very proud moment for me to win it, in all honesty, it has been a real team effort throughout April.
"The results we have picked up and ground out have been amazing, from the front to the back of the team, it has been massive."
