Paul Warne has reacted to winning Manager of the Month at Derby County.
Paul Warne was nominated for League One’s Manager of the Month award this week, alongside Peterborough’s Darren Ferguson, Bristol Rovers’ Matt Taylor and Barnsley’s Neill Collins.
The 50-year-old ended up taking home the crown after The Rams picked up 13 points from a possible 15 in December. The third tier club beat Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Wigan Athletic and Oxford United, while they were held to a draw by Wycombe.
Derby’s impressive festive period has left them fourth in the League One table – only two points from an automatic promotion spot.
Warne has now been rewarded with Manager of the Month, but has insisted that it shouldn’t really be him receiving it.
As per DerbyshireLive, Warne said: “I am proud, but it’s really for the team. It’s not a manager of the month because they don’t have a clue what I have been doing. I could have spent the last six weeks chilling my bones and doing nothing.
“But it’s just how the lads perform. I would love to get it at the end of January. You’ve done very well then because a lot is going on. It’s just an honour to the team. They have been playing really well, getting good results and we’ve been on the end of some good moments in games.
“It’s a massive credit to the players and the medical team who have got players back fit. It’s an award for the team but they call it manager which is a bit strange.”
Can Derby County keep it up this time?
It has definitely been a brilliant December for Derby County, but they can’t get too ahead of themselves.
The Rams headed into 2023 unbeaten in ten games, before going onto extend it to a whopping 15 matches before they were beaten in February.
They also found themselves fourth in the table – four points better off where they are now. They were even nine points above seventh place, yet still failed to reach the play-offs.
Everything looked very promising for County, but seven defeats in the last 18 games meant they missed out on a crack at promotion.
Paul Warne and his team can celebrate recent results, but they can’t let this one slip again.