Preston North End boss Alex Neil nominated for Championship manager of the month award

The Lilywhites boss is on a four-man shortlist, with the winner announced tomorrow.

Neil’s competition comes in the shape of Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi, Slaven Bilic at West Bromwich and Sheffield Wednesday’s Garry Monk.

In terms of league action, September was a short month with only three games played.

North End beat Brentford and Birmingham, drawing with Bristol City.

In nominating Neil, award sponsors Sky Bet said: “Alex Neil has put together a side which collected seven points from three games in different ways.

“Wins over Brentford and Birmingham were built on clinical finishing, while North End came from 2-0 and 3-2 down to draw with Bristol City.”

Daniel Johnson won last month’s player of the month award but no Preston players have been nominated for the September award.

PNE are currently third in the division, having started October with last week’s 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough and the 5-1 win over Barnsley.

They resume action after the international break with a trip to Reading a week on Saturday.

Neil is pleased with how things are going so far but is not shouting from the rooftops about it.

The PNE squad’s level of understanding is something Neil thinks has been key to a good first two months of the campaign.

Said Neil: “The lads here are very intelligent in terms of what we want them to do, they take it on board pretty quickly.

“When I start setting up a session or start talking about a method of how we are going to play against a team, they pick it up within moments now.

“Whereas when you start off at a club you need to bed things in and that takes time to do. Everything here has been bedded in.

“That is why people talk about giving managers time at a club.

“Everything for us ticks along to the next game and I make tweaks here and there.

“When you first go into a club, the first six months to a year – and maybe even a year after that – is crucial.

“Unfortunately at this level at a lot of clubs you don’t get that time.

“I don’t know how you can judge someone if you don’t give them time to implement things.”

Tickets for the Reading game are on sale, with a good-sized following expected. For members and season card holders buying in advance seats are £20 for adults, £13 seniors, £10 18-24, £5 Under-18s and £4 Under-13s.