Reading boss Jaap Stam has been named the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month for January.

Four victories from six games solidified the Royals' place in the Play-Off positions and underscored the patience that Stam preaches to his players - never more apparent than the win at Bristol City from 2-0 down with 18 minutes left.Stam said: “It’s an honour to win the trophy but no manager can do it on their own. You need to have people around you to help you out, staff who have the knowledge and can pass it on to the team to help us get results.“And if the players don’t perform, we don’t win a trophy like this! So I have to thank them as well because we get recognition thanks to their hard work, the performances they have been producing and the results we are picking up.”George Burley, who chairs the Sky Bet Manager of the Month judging panel, said: “Reading managed four wins in January, two at home and two away.“They showed great spirit getting three points away at Bristol City after being two goals down with 18 minutes left and going on to win 3-2.“Jaap has imposed his passing philosophy onto the team and it is being very successful.”Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Don Goodman said: “Jaap completely overhauled Reading’s style in the summer and the fruits of his labour are definitely paying dividends.“Brighton and Newcastle look to be safe for the automatic promotion places, but for first time in a long while, the gap between them and the chasing pack is bridgeable.“Stam’s side are capable of stringing wins together and putting pressure on the top two and as we know, anything can happen in the Championship.”Sky Bet Football Trading Manager Paul Lowery said: “In a month where all the top Championship teams seemed to struggle for consistency, it was Stam’s Reading who managed to create a mini-run of three wins at the end of the month, which helped to catapult the Royals into third place in the table.The Sky Bet Manager of the Month judging panel comprises former Ipswich Town manager George Burley, Sky Sports’ EFL expert Don Goodman, EFL Marketing Director Drew Barrand, League Managers’ Association Director Olaf Dixon and Sky Bet Football Trading Manager Paul Lowery.