Dungannon Swifts manager Dean Shiels is the Aktivora Manager of the Month for January.

The former Rangers and Northern Ireland player guided the Swifts to league victories over Warrenpoint Town, Larne, Portadown and Carrick Rangers.

He’s only the second man from the Stangmore Park club to win the prestigious monthly prize.

He said: “To get the Manager of the Month award is brilliant for me but I have to give total credit to the staff and especially the playing staff, they're the ones on the pitch, they're the ones doing the business for us.

“Each week our team is averaging an age of 21, we have good staff in Tony Gorman, Terry Fitzpatrick and Dwayne Nelson, we're very tight knit, the physio, the kit man it's a big effort from everyone.

“It was a big month for us. What started it was the 2-0 win over Knockbreda in the Irish Cup. We used that momentum to go to Warrenpoint. We won at Warrenpoint and took it from there.

“It was a brilliant month for us, and the lads deserve a lot of credit for their effort because there were Saturday-Tuesday weeks in there which is tough going on the squad. It was a collective effort.”