Manager of the Year candidates assessed with Mikel Arteta favourite to win award

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The best bosses in the country will discover who has been named the LMA Manager of the Year award on Tuesday night with their efforts being recognised.

It was a year of firsts in many ways with several managers making their own history. Mikel Arteta led Arsenal to his first league title as a manager and their first Premier League triumph since the Invincibles in 2004.

Unai Emery continues to perform wonders at Aston Villa and claimed his fifth Europa League , which saw Villa's first European title since 1982. Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth exit had already been announced but he departs after three years having led the Cherries into Europe for the first time.

Regis Le Bris made a mockery of any relegation tips to lead Sunderland , who only got promoted via the play-offs, into Europe via a seventh place finish upon their return to the top flight.

Further down the pyramid a number of promotion winners have been recognised. Frank Lampard has performed arguably the best work of his career having led Coventry back to the Premier League.

Michael Skubala has excelled at Lincoln with the Imps easing to League One glory with over 100 points - finishing a staggering 26 points ahead of third. While Bromley boss Adam Woodman secured his second promotion in three years as he steered the club into third tier for the first time.

The Gunners boss was under huge pressure to deliver having been backed in the market once again following a third successive second place finish last time out. Arsenal quickly established themselves as title favourites until their wobble in March, which left plenty questioning Arteta.

He produced the necessary response, which is a credit to him, as Arsenal responded to win their final five games to become champions. A Champions League victory could still be achieved.

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The Villa boss continues to have the team in illustrious company and now has a trophy to go alongside his league exploits. Their win over Freiburg in the Europa League final secured them Champions League football, but they had already achieved that by virtue of a fourth-place finish. Emery has found new ways to compete with the Premier League's elite with Villa making themselves regulars in the top five mix.

He's impressed more with each passing year and he bowed out by going on an 18-match unbeaten run to send Bournemouth into Europe for the first time. Iraola has looked destined for a top job and those opportunities may soon come his way following his work at the Cherries. His style of play has added to his appeal as he continued to thrive despite losing his best players almost yearly.

Any team who gets promoted via the play-offs is likely to have the toughest task in surviving. Le Bris went hard in the transfer market but that proved to his benefit with Granit Xhaka among the signings of the season.

Sunderland were flying high early on and, despite a dip in form, recovered to secure European football. The Black Cats also did the double over Newcastle , which will have gone down well with their fans.

After play-off heartache last year Coventry couldn't have responded more impressively. Lampard hardly missed a beat with his side out of the blocks at speed, scoring goals and entertaining in the first-half of the season.

Ultimately, no team in the football league scored more than Coventry. It is the first promotion of Lampard's career and has the Chelsea legend being linked with bigger jobs in the Premier League as he proves his managerial doubters wrong.

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A brief caretaker at Leeds, Skubala pulled off one of the most impressive seasons in the whole of the football league. Lincoln, up against Cardiff in League One, proved that their inferior budget was no hinderance as they soared towards promotion and picked up the title in the process. They lost just five games all year and their passage into the Championship had, for a long time, been a case of when, rather than if.

Bromley have spent 132 of their 134 years in existence playing non-league football, but they're now the third tier for the first time. They became just the third club this century to go an entire season unbeaten at home in the fourth tier - Cardiff City did it in 2000-01 and Shrewsbury Town in 2010-11 but both finished as runners-up in those respective seasons. Woodman has been key to their success and taken the club to new heights.

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