ROOFE SALUTES BIELSA IMPACT
LEEDS forward Kemar Roofe hailed the impact of fellow award winner Marcelo Bielsa after being named the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month for August.
Argentinian coach Bielsa, who scooped Manager of the Month, has overseen an impressive start to the season for the Whites, who top the Championship following an unbeaten start.
“It all stems from pre-season,” said Roofe, 25. “It’s been the best pre-season I’ve had – the hardest – and the style of play that Marcelo is giving us and educating us with is obviously showing.
“The style of play with the ball, without the ball, our fitness and off the pitch as well. Every day he is educating us on how to be better people.”
On his own performances, Roofe, who netted four goals and added two assists in August, said: “I feel like I can express myself a bit more.
“The team plays to my strengths and to everyone else’s strengths as well. We’re not doing something that we’re not capable of doing.”
Elsewhere, Peterborough also claimed a double, with Steve Evans named League One Manager of the Month and striker Jason Cummings, who has scored six goals and provided three assists, scooping the player accolade.
Evans said of the 23-year-old Nottingham Forest loanee, who has formed an instant strike partnership with Matt Godden: “I think when Jason was very successful at Hibs – his goal record was up there with the best in Scottish football – he scored a lot of goals when he played with a strike partner.
“It’s very easy to take him away and think you can play him as a one. But playing as a one versus playing as a two is sometimes like asking a bricklayer to do the plumbing. It’s a completely different role.
“He does complement our second striker – and Jason does a lot of the work as well – and playing in a two he will always score goals.”
Cummings said: “Fair play to all the boys who have been different class, I couldn’t have won this without them.
Class
“They set it up for me, they’ve won me a few penalties, and made my life easy. I just tap it in at the end of the day and get all the headlines!”
As for his own honour, Evans, who led his side to five straight wins in August, added: “This award is in recognition of the staff and all the players, because they have been nothing short of outstanding.”
Lincoln’s Danny Cowley is League Two Manager of the Month, while Tranmere’s James Norwood, who has bagged five goals, was named Player of the Month.
Cowley, who led the Imps to top spot, said: “It has been a good start, but it is only a start. It certainly gives us a platform to push on from, but the Manager of the Month award is firstly a team effort, but also a club effort, and I just want to congratulate everybody behind the scenes for all of their selfless hard work.”
Rovers striker Norwood, 28, said: “The way we play creates chances for me and I’m lucky enough to be on the end of them. I think I have got a point to prove. I believed I could play at a certain level since I was 18, 19. I haven’t had the chance, so if I have to build myself up year by year then hopefully I can do that.”