Sheridan in the running

John Sheridan: manager of the month contender

JOHN Sheridan is a contender for the Sky Bet League One manager of the month award.

But there is no place in the player nominations for midfield diamond Matt Palmer.

Sheridan’s unbeaten February run caught the eye of the Football League’s official judging panel. He is in a group with Wigan’s Gary Caldwell, Paul Heckingbottom of Barnsley and Swindon’s Luke Williams.

“If there is a man you need to restore order and turn around a slump, it is Sheridan,” the Football League citation reads. “A League Two nominee in November at Newport, he guided relegation-threatened Oldham to nine points from five unbeaten games.”

Despite Palmer’s form since joining on loan from Burton, the player hasn’t made the cut for the League One player prize. The winners of both prizes will be revealed on Friday morning.

The following day, Sheridan takes his side to Sheffield United hoping to extend the run without defeat to eight matches. But despite that form, Athletic are still embroiled in a tense scrap at the foot of the table.

It was a mixed bag on the results front last night elsewhere in the division. Shrewsbury won 2-1 at home against Coventry to pull nine points clear of Athletic, having played two games more. Doncaster’s 2-0 loss at Scunthorpe has dropped them to within two points of the relegation zone, after a barren run of seven defeats from eight matches. After the Bramall Lane trip comes a vital home clash with rivals Blackpool on Tuesday.

Captain Liam Kelly is sitting on nine yellow cards for the season and is one away from a two-match ban if he is cautioned against Sheffield United. Sheridan has nonetheless said he won’t tinker with his game too much.

“I’ll have a quiet word with him about the situation, but you can’t go out and tell someone not to play the way he always does, just because he might get another card,” said the Athletic boss.

The cut-off date for a sanction for collecting 10 yellow cards is Sunday. The only danger for Kelly after that would be picking up 15 cautions for the season, which would earn him a three-match ban