West Bromwich Albion chief Tony Pulis has tipped Jose Mourinho for Manager of the Year and labelled the Chelsea boss "relentless."
The reigning Manager of the Year believes the Stamford Bridge boss could succeed him after winning his third Premier League title in England.
The champions head to The Hawthorns on Monday having won the league for the first time since Mourinho returned in 2013.
The Portuguese has questioned why he has failed to win the Manager of the Month award this season, despite Chelsea's triumph, but Pulis reckons he could land the top prize.
"He has got to be very close," said the 57-year-old, who won the award as Crystal Palace boss last year.
"Relentless is a great word and I think you can put that next to his name.
"If it's a football match they are good enough to play against the best teams, if it's a battle they can do that.
"I'm not so sure he'll be worried about that [not winning any monthly awards] when he picks up his medal. I think he will go down as one of the great managers.
"But it's very easy to keep going for the people at the top of the table who have the most money, best squads and everything else.
"You have a look down the table and people have been talking about Garry [Monk] at Swansea and Dychey [Sean Dyche] has kept Burnley in it until the final two games. He's spent the least amount but has kept them competitive all season.
"They have been a real credit to him. Look at what Nigel [Pearson] has done in the last couple of months, it's all relevant."
Mourinho branded himself as the Special One when he first came to Chelsea in 2004 but Pulis insisted he is still just a normal guy underneath it all.
"He has got an edge, the edge is he wants to win and knows how to win. He demands winning and I have never seen him work as a coach but I know Steve Holland [Chelsea assistant] and Steve thinks he is outstanding," he said.
"You have got to want to win. He is very driven. At the beginning of this season I did a Chelsea home game and I stayed in the hotel they stayed in.
"I'd rung Steve and Mourinho came down for a drink. We sat there for a couple of hours and he's just one of us. You get pigeon-holed as this special human being but you take that off him and he's the same as us."
Pulis, who has guided Albion to safety after replacing Alan Irvine in January, has a fully fit squad to pick from with Saido Berahino and Brown Ideye pushing to start after being named on the bench in last week's 1-1 draw at Newcastle.