Here are March's top manager, player
Leyton Orient boss Russell Slade and AFC Bournemouth's Brett Pitman are rewarded for their fine form this month as Football League sponsors npower are proud to reveal the prizes for both the League One Manager and Player of the Month Awards.
With a total of seven fixtures played, Slade negotiated his O's through a tricky period, collecting 14 points in March. With just one defeat, Leyton Orient finished the month just outside of the play-offs with five games to play.
Brett Pitman's five goals and increased work-rate across the front line in March had Bournemouth pushing for automatic promotion. Three of them were the only goals of the game in vital away wins at Stevenage, Latics and Colchester, each of them tucked away with confidence.
The two awards are determined by two separate expert panels. The manager-of-the-month award is decided by former Charlton Athletic manager Alan Curbishley, Football League Chief Operating Officer Andy Williamson, League Managers Association Deputy CEO Olaf Dixon and npower Partnership and Sponsorship Manager Katy Thomas. The player-of-the-month panel sees Katy Thomas joined by Wolves legend Don Goodman, BBC Sport’s Mark Clemmit and The Football League’s Head of Communications, John Nagle.
Speaking about Slade's win, Curbishley commented: “Russell Slade’s men enjoyed a great run in March with Orient now in touching distance of the play-offs as we enter the final stretch of the season.”
Commenting from npower, Partnership and Sponsorship Manager Katy Thomas added
"Bournemouth's promotion chase has been well underway for some time and another month like this from Brett Pitman may well see them clinch one of the automatic slots."
“It was clearly a great month for both winners. There's still enough time for Leyton Orient to crash the play-offs and this run of form will leave fans full of confidence.
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