Chelsea manager Emma Hayes and assistant coach Denise Reddy have jointly claimed the Barclays Manager of the Month award for November.
The duo led the Blues through some tricky fixtures to consolidate their place at the top of the Women's Super League. The award is shared as Hayes only returned to the touchline midway through the month, after taking a break following emergency hysterectomy surgery for endometriosis.
Although the award is shared between the pair holding the reigns at different points, it is the sixth time in total that Hayes has claimed a WSL Manager of the Month award. That puts her one clear of former Arsenal boss Joe Montemurro, who shared the league record with her.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa's Rachel Daly won the Player of the Month award after continuing a golden spell of goalscoring, as the Midlands club picked up wins over Liverpool and Reading in November. The Lioness hit four goals in just two games to see off six other players including Liverpool's Melissa Lawley to claim the award for the second time this season.
In Hayes' absence Chelsea picked up a huge win at the start of the month when they scored twice in four minutes to end Manchester United's unbeaten start to the season. Sam Kerr, Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert all found the net as the Blues executed a ruthless performance despite their manager's absence.
Reddy, 52, led the team from the touchline while Hayes recovered while General Manager Paul Green handled media responsibilities. After six weeks away, Hayes then made a triumphant return to the dugout later in the month when the Blues faced Tottenham in a London Derby at Stamford Bridge.
Hayes revealed in a statement in October that she was removing herself from the rigours of management in order to recover from the operation amid an ongoing battle with endometriosis. However, her return against Tottenham came much sooner than originally anticipated, in a major boost for the defending WSL champions.
Kerr, Cuthbert and Guro Reiten scored to keep Chelsea at the top of the league summit with a 3-0 win, in front of a crowd of 38,300. Chelsea ended November top of the league, three points clear of both Manchester United and Arsenal albeit having played a game more than both.
Those positions were maintained at the weekend when all three won, Chelsea hitting eight goals past Leicester at the King Power Stadium in a dominant display. Away from the WSL the Blues remained unbeaten throughout November, beating Real Madrid 2-0 in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
They face Real in the return game in Madrid at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Thursday evening, where a win will confirm their qualification for the quarter-finals.
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