Peterborough United boss Darragh MacAnthony has said the Manager of the Year Award has ‘got to go’ to Michael Skubala this year.
City head to Stevenage today knowing we could clinch the League One title, and tomorrow night, Michael Skubala will attend an awards ceremony to crown the Manager of the Year. It’s bizarre having the ceremony during the season, but that’s football for you!
Michael is up for the award alongside Graham Alexander, Alex Revell and Brian Barry-Murphy. Revell, today’s opposition manager, should have a strong shout given the heroics he has performed at Broadhall Way, but MacAnthony believes Skubala is the only winner.
Speaking on his Hard Truth Podcast to Bradford City fan and co-host Phil Ideson, he compared Lincoln to Bradford and claimed, without a doubt, Michael should win the award.
“Gotta go to Lincoln manager,” said Darragh on a recent episode.
“As much as your manager (Graham Alexander) has performed unbelievably, on the scale of things, Bradford’s a bigger club than Lincoln.
“What he’s done budget-wise and everything else has to go to the Lincoln manager. He’s got to win manager of the f****** year. What a job he’s done.”
Speaking ahead of the award, the man who has put Lincoln in the Championship was typically relaxed about the awards, choosing to question the timing and take the opportunity to praise the players, with Sonny Bradley and Jack Moylan also nominated.
“I sometimes wonder why you do them in the middle of the season, I’m not sure,” Michael said, speaking ahead of today’s game.
“It’s great recognition for the lads and what they’ve done this season. It’s amazing that we’ve got players in there, and when I look at some of the lads who aren’t in the running, there are some very good players as well.
“It’s good for the club, good for the owners, the board and the leadership to enjoy it, but we’ll be back in Monday, ready for a big game against Doncaster.”
Whatever happens today, or indeed against Doncaster, Wycombe and Port Vale, there is no doubt in my mind Michael Skubala has to be Manager of the Year, not just because we’ve won the league, but because we have done so with a small budget, comparatively, and done so in real style since the beginning of December.
It’s also nice to listen to Darragh praise Lincoln, and while I wouldn’t want our chairman to be as open as he is, I do enjoy the transparency he shows on his podcast. He’s always honest, and this week’s episode is worth a listen, not for him praising Michael, but for his conversation around League One spending.
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