Southampton and Norwich City launch cheeky digs at the EFL after manager reveal | OneFootball

The nominations for the EFL award of Championship manager of the year have been released

Both Southampton and Norwich City opted for a change in manager midway through this Championship campaign.

The two clubs brought in new head coaches in the summer, but Will Still lasted just 16 matches in charge at St. Mary’s, and Liam Manning had only 17 games in the dugout at Carrow Road.

But underwhelming starts to the campaign amid ambitions of competing for promotion led to them both losing their positions in November, with Tonda Eckert and Philippe Clement arriving in their respective places.

Now they are both in the mix for a play-off place, with the Saints occupying sixth in the table with just six games remaining.

Norwich have earned their way up to ninth, although the Canaries are six adrift of the Hampshire outfit, and they have just five fixtures remaining and appear to have run out of time this term. The signs ahead of next season, however, are hugely promising, with Norwich having also been one of the division's premiere form teams since electing change in the dugout.

There is no doubt that both managers have made a strong impact for their respective teams, and it’s hard for supporters not to imagine what could’ve been had they been in place when the season started.

Norwich and Southampton launch cheeky dig at EFL manager shortlist

The EFL have released the shortlist for the Championship manager of the year award for this season as we approach the final few games.

The nominations include Frank Lampard, Alex Neil, Sergej Jakirovic and Kim Hellberg, who are managing four of the top five teams in the table.

Both Clement and Eckert were excluded despite their efforts in guiding Norwich and Southampton back up into the top half of the second division table.

This has led to the two clubs both responding with cheeky digs on social media, with the Canaries posting a picture of their head coach with a thinking face emoji.

Meanwhile, Southampton have also posted an image of their head coach alongside the caption: “Just don’t think they understand.”

While the managers themselves have given no reaction, both sets of supporters will feel that their man has been snubbed from the shortlist of potential winners.

Lampard is on the cusp of earning automatic promotion with Coventry City, which has earned him the nomination.

Neil, Jakirovic and Hellberg have overseen promotion pushes as well, with Millwall, Hull City and Middlesbrough, respectively, but they have all lost ground on second place Ipswich Town in recent weeks in the battle for a top two finish.

Jakirovic's nomination may well be the most justified considering that he has operated under a transfer embargo and Hull were tipped by many to endure another battle against relegation, with the Tigers having dramatically exceeded all expectations to stake their claim for a shock Premier League return.

The EFL awards will take place on 19 April, with the Championship player of the year award also to be decided.

Philippe Clement and Tonda Eckert have stiff competition for manager of the year

A lot of managers have done great work this year, and the four names that have been shortlisted for the award are all deserving of their place.

Eckert and Clement took charge in November, and have done exceptionally to get their teams to where they are today.

But Southampton were also expected to be in the mix for a top two place when the campaign got underway and they have simply corrected back to their natural position under Eckert.