COLCHESTER United boss Geraint Williams is the red-hot favourite to be named the Coca-Cola Championship manager of the month for September.The winner will be presented with the trophy today, and Williams is vying with Preston's Paul Simpson to scoop the award.

By Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United boss Geraint Williams is the red-hot favourite to be named the Coca-Cola Championship manager of the month for September.

The winner will be presented with the trophy today, and Williams is vying with Preston's Paul Simpson to scoop the award.

Preston have accrued the same number of points as Colchester over the past month - an impressive 11 points from a possible 15 - but Williams looks set to get the nod, on the basis that the U's are newly-promoted and have made such dramatic progress following a blank first two weeks of the season.

Few would begrudge the Welshman this accolade. He has led the U's out of the relegation zone and into the relative safety of mid-table, on the back of a six-match unbeaten run.

Five of these games have been squeezed into September. Away from Layer Road, there have been battling draws at Luton Town (1-1) and Leicester City (0-0), in addition to a 2-1 victory at high-flying Burnley.

And at home, Williams has masterminded wins over QPR and Ipswich. Last Friday's 1-0 success over East Anglian rivals Town was achieved in front of a capacity crowd, and under the glare of the Sky TV cameras.

Karl Duguid's winner that night effectively dented the chances of Town boss Jim Magilton winning the manager of the month award. Like league leaders Cardiff City, Sunderland and Derby County, the Suffolk club have collected 10 points from 15 in September.The U's players are all behind their manager, and they fully expect Williams to be lifting the trophy today. It would be a major achievement, not least because he was only officially appointed to the Layer Road hot-seat a week before the start of this season,

Inspirational defender Wayne Brown declared: “The gaffer deserves this award, and I'm speaking on behalf of the whole team when I say this.”