New Swansea City boss Paul Clement has been named the Premier League's Manager of the Month for January.
Clement, appointed on Jan. 3 with the club at the foot of the table, saw Swansea beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on his first day in the job and, despite losing 4-0 to Arsenal in their next league game, ended the month with a 3-2 win over Liverpool and a 2-1 success against Southampton to move out of the relegation zone.
"It is a real honour to receive the manager of the month award, because there are a lot of very good managers and very good teams in this league," Clement told Swansea's official website.
"I would like to accept the award on behalf of the club -- the staff and the players who have done a really good job since I have been here. We have picked up some good results and there's a real positivity around the group.
"That's come from the work we have done on the training pitch, plus what goes on in the gym and in the video room. We are moving in the right direction, but the big thing now is that we have to keep things going."
Congrats to @SwansOfficial's @PaulClement1972 on winning the January Barclays Manager of the Month Award in his first month in charge! ��⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Og5wC1z0WZ
- Barclays Football (@BarclaysFooty) February 10, 2017
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte -- who won the award in October, November and December -- was not among the nominees for the January prize after seeing his side's unbeaten record end at Tottenham Hotspur and ending the month with a draw against Liverpool.
Everton boss Ronald Koeman was also nominated after overseeing a 3-0 win over Southampton, a 4-0 win over Manchester City and a 1-0 success over Crystal Palace in his three league games.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino had been another contender after impressive wins over Watford, Chelsea and West Brom but, while his side remained unbeaten, they were less convincing when concluding the month with draws against Manchester City and Sunderland.
Stoke's Mark Hughes, whose side beat Watford and Sunderland before drawing 1-1 against Manchester United, was the final contender.
The Manager of the Month award is voted primarily by a panel of football experts, although a public vote counts for 10 percent.