Southampton manager Gordon Strachan and Ipswich striker Marcus Bent have been named Barclaycard’s manager and player of the month for January. Strachan guided Southampton well clear of the relegation zone with wins over Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham in January, while Bent hit five goals in Ipswich’s recent good form which saw them claw their way out of the bottom three.
"It’s nice to win this award – especially after the month we had. I can’t remember a group of fixtures as hard as this, even when I was playing. We thought we playing in the Champions League! We won at Chelsea and deserved to beat Liverpool here. We were fortunate to get a draw up there when our attitude kept us in it – but we could even have sneaked a win," said Strachan.
On choosing Bent for the player of the month award, the Barclaycard panel – which includes representatives from the game’s governing bodies, the media and fans – said: "His goalscoring form has proved the £3 million fee for Bent from Blackburn is money very well spent. It’s no coincidence that Ipswich’s change in form has followed him signing for them. His speed, pace and eye for goal have tormented some of the Premiership’s best defences."
Filed by Tom Grealis
