Championship Manager of the Month Contenders: August 2023
Four managers. One month. A statement from each.
The Championship’s first Manager of the Month shortlist of the season has a sharp edge to it, featuring Nathan Jones of Charlton Athletic, Swansea City’s Vitor Matos, Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto and QPR head coach Julien Stephan after an August that already hinted at shifting power lines in the division.
Jones fires Charlton to the summit
Nathan Jones has wasted no time in reshaping Charlton’s mood and momentum. Three games, three wins, and top of the table by the end of August. No caveats, no easing in.
Charlton’s perfect start under Jones did more than bank nine points. It set a tone. His side looked organised, aggressive and sure of themselves, the kind of early surge that forces the rest of the league to take notice long before the autumn chill arrives.
Matos makes an unbeaten entrance at Swansea
Vitor Matos walked into his first Championship job with questions hanging over Swansea after a turbulent spell in recent seasons. He answered them quickly.
Seven points from nine, unbeaten, and crucially, victories over Stoke City and Derby County. Those are not soft touches. Under Matos, Swansea showed a blend of control and sharpness that suggested his ideas were landing fast in the dressing room. The table is still taking shape, but Swansea have already stepped out of the shadows.
Peixoto steadies Wolves’ Premier League push
Cesar Peixoto carries a different kind of pressure. Wolves are not just rebuilding; they are expected to bounce straight back to the Premier League. That expectation can suffocate a new manager. It has not.
Like Swansea, Wolves opened with seven points from their first three matches, a calm, assured start to a high‑stakes campaign. Peixoto’s side moved through August with the quiet authority of a club that knows the target and isn’t afraid to say it out loud: promotion, and quickly.
Stephan sparks QPR’s away-day revival
If Charlton, Swansea and Wolves brought power, QPR brought resilience.
Julien Stephan’s team came through August unbeaten, a significant shift for a club that has flirted too often with trouble in recent seasons. The standout detail? Their work on the road. QPR walked into Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers and came away with away wins that hinted at a steel QPR sides have lacked for years.
Stephan has not just collected points; he has changed the feel around the club. QPR suddenly look like a team that travels with intent, not fear.
The first Manager of the Month award of the season will be announced on Friday, 11 September. Four coaches, four convincing cases. Only one of them gets to turn a strong start into the campaign’s first piece of recognition.
