Bossing It! Meet August's Managers Of The Month

By Sam Elliott

We are delighted to present the August Managers of the Month for the Vanarama National League, North and South with three very worthy recipients honoured.

The first four weeks of the new campaign produced plenty of talking points and some fierce competition for the awards.

But our panel eventually settled on the winners and they all ended last month top of the table.

Gateshead manager Rob Elliot knew he had a job on to repair some broken hearts when EFL regulations prevented the club from competing in the play-offs in April.

But the Heed have suffered no lasting damage, and were the only National League side in the division to head into September undefeated.

Beginning the campaign in style with a 5-1 thumping of Ebbsfleet United, fellow strong starters Eastleigh and Yeovil Town were also put to the sword in the North East.

Solid draws at FC Halifax and Oldham Athletic as well as a 2-0 win against Woking means life on the road is good too. Just one team scored more than Gateshead, and only two conceded less.

When Andy Butler was appointed Scunthorpe United manager in June he warned fans not to expect too much too soon.

Well, he fooled us as well! National League North triumphs at Brackley Town, Needham Market and South Shields were backed up by defeats of Marine and Kidderminster at home. It was a highly impressive August for the club who fell so flat in the second half of last season.

They find goals and their defence seems watertight - letting in just one last month, they have scored an average of two a game. Many people’s title tips are living up to the tag.

One team not talked about in the National League South title reckoning over the summer was Scott Davies' Slough Town.

But after their fantastic start, would you back against it now? The Rebels have gone toe-to-toe with some bigger, more-fancied outfits and ended the month top of the pile.

The player-manager’s summer rebuild paid dividends fairly quickly for Slough who – despite a defeat to newly-promoted Salisbury – ended August unbeaten in four.

By beating Weymouth on the month’s final gameday, they took their unbeaten home run to 26 league games meaning they hadn't lost in front of their fans for a whole year.

Congratulations to our three fantastic winners!

Where next?

Player Power! It’s Awards For Henry, Caton And Shields Let’s meet our three Players of the Month as the stand–out stars from August are rewarded for their sensational starts.
No New Leaders On A Night Of Big National League Results Eastleigh missed the chance to lead the way after Southend United really got their season up and running.

Match centre

Vanarama National League North
Vanarama National League South