Frank Lampard and four-goal Coventry City ace lead the way in Championship awards for August

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The first batch of Championship awards will be announced on Friday, and we’ve got the inside scoop on the nominees.

Those summer months flew by in a flurry of transfer activity and off-field drama, but we’re buzzing that Championship football is now back on our screens.

So far this term, we’ve seen Middlesbrough and Stoke City prove everyone wrong, while the likes of Ipswich Town and Sheffield United falter.

Meanwhile, Coventry City sent a big warning to their league rivals with a 7-1 hammering of QPR. It’s not surprising, then, that the Sky Blues feature heavily in the nominations for August’s Championship awards.

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Championship player of the month nominees for August

First up in our rundown of the nominees for August’s Championship awards is the player of the month category. As per the EFL, there are four players up for the prize.

After a promising start to the season for Bristol City, Ross McCrorie makes the cut, with the judging panel describing the wing-back as “all-action, tough, and energetic”. He chipped in with one goal and three assists in August.

Rather unsurprisingly, Josh Sargent is also up for the award after bagging five goals in four matches. Sargent is a ‘cheat code’ in the Championship, and Norwich City fans will be delighted to have kept hold of him despite intense transfer speculation this summer.

Stoke City have been surprise package so far this season, and new signing Sorba Thomas is key to that success. The judging panel commended his “direct running and awareness of teammates” and hail the way he has “added a new dimension” to the Potters’ attack.

Finally, there’s a place for Victor Torp, who is praised as “the thread that runs through Coventry’s attacking play.” The Danish midfielder scored four goals and was one of the best players in a very strong Sky Blues team last month.

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Championship manager of the month nominees for August

Every great player needs a great manager behind him, and these four gaffers did a remarkable job in August, with three of them still unbeaten this season.

Rob Edwards was written off before he even began at Middlesbrough, but the panel mention how he has brought “positivity and a desire” to the Riverside. His perfect start has Boro top of the table, and they conceded just one goal in August.

There’s a good chance Frank Lampard steals the manager of the month award from under Edwards, though. He’s turned Coventry into a “potent attacking unit” in August with 14 goals for the Sky Blues. Even more impressive, nine different players got at least one goal or assist last month.

Another manager who has proved his doubters wrong, Ryan Mason is yet to taste defeat with West Brom. The panel were impressed by Mason’s “thoroughness and attention to detail.”

And finally, Mark Robins rounds out the nominees. The Potters boss has instilled a “togetherness” in his side, who achieved a record-breaking start to the season. This is the first time Stoke have won their first three league games since the turn of the century, and Robins could well be rewarded for that.