Lee Clark, Billy Davies, Mick McCarthy and Steve McClaren have been revealed as the nominees for December's Championship Manager of the Month.
Birmingham City's Clark led the Blues to an unbeaten month, including away victories at Bournemouth and Blackburn Rovers, as they edged away from the bottom three.
Davies guided Nottingham Forest to four clean sheets in six games as Forest finished the month with assuring home victories over fellow promotion hopefuls Queens Park Rangers and Leeds United to solidify their place in the playoffs.
Ipswich Town boss McCarthy saw his resilient side win three and draw three in an unbeaten month that helped the Tractor Boys into the playoff places.
The final nominee is Derby manager McClaren, whose impact has been noticeable since he took over at Pride Park.
In December, the Rams achieved a near-perfect 19 of 21 points from their seven games to join the race for automatic promotion.
The winner will be announced on Friday.