David Wagner has lost out on March's Championship manager of the month award to Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna.

The Norwich City head coach masterminded four wins in five during March as his Canaries entered the play-off places, with defeat to Middlesbrough after Borja Sainz's wrongful red card the only blemish on their record.

Blues manager McKenna has pipped the German, however, having completed the same points haul and put his side in a strong position as they bid for automatic promotion.

Ipswich suffered a shock loss to Cardiff in the middle of the month but beat Plymouth, Blackburn, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City either side of that.

City striker Josh Sargent has also missed out on an award despite scoring four times in the month, with Celtic winger Mikey Johnston picking up the player of the month accolade for his impressive work at West Brom.

McKenna said: “Whether it’s as a staff member or as a player, awards are always reflective of the team.

“Any Manager of the Month award is really a reflection of the work of the players on the pitch, and the work of the players on the pitch is a reflection of the work of so many people at the training ground and also at the stadium.

“It’s nice to share these things with the staff. We won this award this time last year and shared it with the staff at that point, and it was nice to speak to some of the staff about that today 12 months on.

Former Sheffield United and Barnsley boss Danny Wilson chairs the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month judging panel.

He said, “They just keep going, don’t they? Four wins out of five games, including a 6-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday, have kept Kieran and his team in the two automatic positions in this very tight Championship battle, with all to play for.”

Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Don Goodman said: “Ipswich’s dip in form earlier in the year was consigned to the past in April and Kieran McKenna deserves immense credit for getting their promotion push back on track. They scored goals for fun, and you can never write them off until the final whistle, which typifies the mentality and desire around the club.

“They’re in a great position in the Championship table and what an achievement it would be if McKenna was to win back-to-back promotions and guide Ipswich from mid table in League One to the summit of English football.”