Shropshire Star

Wolves boss Nuno nominated for LMA manager award

Nuno Espirito Santo has been rewarded for guiding Wolves to the top flight by being handed a nomination for the top manager gong in the country.

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The Portuguese boss is on a six-man shortlist that includes Manchester City's Pep Guardiola for the League Managers Association Manager of the Year award.

As well as Guardiola, Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, Burnley boss Sean Dyche, Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman and Cardiff City chief Neil Warnock have been nominated.

The award is voted for by fellow managers and the winner will be announced at the LMA Awards this month.

Chelsea's Antonio Conte won in 2017 but since the award launched in the early 1990s four previous winners have come from outside the top flight.

Eddie Howe won it for guiding Bournemouth to promotion in 2015, while Steve Coppell (Reading, 2006), Danny Wilson (Barnsley, 1997) and Peter Reid (Sunderland, 1996) have also won the award in the second tier.

It reignites Nuno's rivalry with Cardiff's Neil Warnock, who pipped the Wolves head coach to the EFL manager of the year award.

Nuno would become the first Portuguese manager to win the prize and only the fourth non-British or Irish boss, after Arsene Wenger, Claudio Ranieri and Conte.

As well as the main manager of the year award, division prizes are handed out. Mick McCarthy won the LMA Championship manager of the year gong in 2009 for winning the title with Wolves.

Nuno is only the seventh foreign boss to win promotion to the Premier League.

Wolves won promotion with four games to spare.