Who Deserves the Premier League January Manager of the Month Award?

Amid Moving Manager Madness, Who Deserves Manager of the Month?

Sorry, Thomas Frank and Sean Dyche, I’m afraid you’re not going to be in the lineup for this one.

Amid the chaos of the last few days, which has seen both the Tottenham and Nottingham Forest managers dismissed from their roles, many have forgotten that the January manager of the month is announced tomorrow, and there are some superb candidates.

The frontrunners are dominated by teams in Champions contention, with Manchester United and Chelsea both embarking on impressive runs of form over the last month or so, while one mid-table side has experienced a complete turnaround in fortunes – but who deserves it most?

Michael Carrick, Manchester United - 4 Wins, 1 Draw

Though he didn’t manage to get United Strand his haircut, Michael Carrick has been worshipped as nothing short of a god on the red side of Manchester since coming in as interim manager on January 13th.

Though he has only had half a month to make his case for manager of the month, Carrick has put forth a compelling argument – wins over top two sides, Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, have propelled the Red Devils into the Champions League spots, well and truly back where they belong.

While their draw away to West Ham may have taken some of the glisten away from Carrick’s opening five games, the difference between his side and Amorim’s out-of-sorts lineups has been night and day.

Michael Carrick has still never lost a game as Man United manager:

Win vs Arsenal ✅
Win vs Villarreal ✅
Draw vs Chelsea 🤝
Win vs Man City ✅
Win vs Arsenal (again) ✅
Win vs Fulham ✅
Win vs Tottenham ✅
Draw vs West Ham 🤝 pic.twitter.com/lt2sHSPl8z

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 11, 2026

Gone is the timid, nervous, over-instructed Man United side of Amorim’s tenure. In their place, a bold, football-playing, giant-killing Manchester United of old has risen up, and more importantly, he has finally got their expensively assembled front three of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo, with the trio netting seven between them in their last five.

In their current form, no one wants to come up against them. Already, Carrick has put himself in the conversation to become permanent manager at the end of the season, and if current results continue, you wouldn’t bet against it.

Liam Rosenior, Chelsea - 4 Wins, 1 Draw

With exactly the same record as Carrick, Rosenior came into a Chelsea side recently robbed of Conference League and Club World Cup-winning manager Enzo Maresca, and there was a danger that the team could spiral under his management.

Instead, Rosenior has turned the young potential in the squad into results, and with no shortage of drama – the Blues managed a dramatic 3-2 win against West Ham despite trailing 2-0 at half time, capped off with a stoppage-time winner, as well as staging a heroic turnaround against Napoli to qualify for the Champions League last 16.

Liam Rosenior 🤝 Michael Carrick@ChelseaFC | @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/iUj4A95BCK

— Premier League India (@PLforIndia) February 11, 2026

Everything is slotting into place – Cole Palmer is back fit and firing, Joao Pedro is thriving under the new management and has six goals in six starts under Rosenior, and the Blues are looking hungry, exciting and driven, traits that Maresca was repeatedly accused of attempting to coach out of his squad.

However, unlike Carrick, Rosenior has tasted defeat at his new side, losing both legs of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Arsenal, and these results showed that Chelsea still have a couple of areas to address if they are to start competing with the Premier League big dogs again.

Nevertheless, only Premier League fixtures are taken into account – the only thing that may hurt Rosenior’s chances in this respect is that the calibre of opposition he has faced is far inferior to opponents faced (and beaten) by Michael Carrick. The fact he took over halfway through the month won’t boost his chances either.

Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth - 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss

Since defeat to Arsenal on the third of January, Bournemouth have gone undefeated in the league, with Andoni Iraola having masterminded a stunning turnaround at the Vitality Stadium. Prior to their win over Tottenham on January 7th, the Cherries were winless in their last 11 league games and were starting to look over their shoulders.

However, that victory over Spurs, which was capped off by a brilliant 95th-minute solo winner by Antoine Semenyo in his final game for the club before joining Man City, seems to have fortified the south-coast side, and now, they can’t stop winning.

Andoni Iraola loses his best players every season, loses his entire defence, then Semenyo in January… performances still there. No excuses, no crying. Not a coward. Generational manager — people will catch up soon. pic.twitter.com/0sU1FhFiTz

— ⚡️ (@afcsean_) January 24, 2026

Since that result, they managed a draw against Brighton, denied three points only thanks to a remarkable bicycle kick, picked up a shock win against Liverpool with another 90+5 winner, and conquered Wolves with a comfortable 2-0 win.

Eli Junior Kroupi has been central to their sudden burst of goals – Bournemouth netted 12 times in their five games – while the arrival of Brazilian teenager Rayan has also proven to be a superb signing, netting two goals and an assist in three games. Had he arrived earlier in the January transfer window, he would be in contention for player of the month.

Starting the month in 15th, it is testament to the changes Iraola has made that the Cherries now sit in 9th, the biggest change in position of any manager on this list, and although the Spaniard doesn’t boast an undefeated month, he can certainly parade his scalps with equal pride to Rosenior and Carrick.