Southampton star James Bree has been handed a second chance at an October award

Middlesbrough have picked up the Manager of the Month and the Player of the Month accolade for October.

Tonda Eckert and James Bree were in the running for Southampton, but the judging panel have handed both the awards to the Saints' Spygate nemesis instead, with Kim Hellberg guiding his promotion-chasing team to some notable victories last month, including a 5-1 away win at Bolton Wanderers.

Will Lankshear, unsurprisingly, won the Player of the Month honour, with the lethal number seven a man possessed for Boro up top, as he scored a jaw-dropping seven goals from five games over October.

Bree, in reality, never stood a chance at beating the Leeds United-linked striker, but he has been gifted another shot at another monthly award, even after this rejection, as the dependable full-back is up for the eye-catching accolade of Goal of the Month.

Bree up for goal of the month

Despite being a right-back by trade, the one-time Charlton Athletic loanee ended up scoring two big goals for Eckert's men last month.

Indeed, he broke the deadlock in the South Coast Derby with a calmly taken goal, after Finn Azaz expertly found him space, but that match-winner against Portsmouth isn't why he is nominated in the Goal of the Month category.

He is, instead, nominated for his stunning first-time effort against West Ham United, as Bree helped Eckert and Co. pick up a crazy 3-2 away win at their fellow promotion rivals.

Noting that it's "probably one of the better strikes I've had" when discussing the outrageous effort post-match with ITV Sport, it would be nice for Bree if he was to pick up this honour, after losing out to Lankshear.

It would be just the recognition the underrated 28-year-old deserves, with the Wakefield-born full-back yet to miss a single Championship game this season for the South Coast giants.

He is arguably the frontrunner to scoop up the award, but he does face some stern competition, particularly from down the road at Fratton Park...

He could win that award

Zak Swanson could pick up the award at Bree's expense, who is - funnily enough - also a right-back, who plays for Southampton's sworn enemy, Portsmouth.

He would score his own peach of an effort on the 14th of October, when John Mousinho's men butted heads with Sheffield United, with the forward-thinking number 22 opening the scoring for Pompey with a delightful strike which set the tone for a wild 3-2 win in the hosts' favour.

The other nominees include the aforementioned Lankshear, who tapped home a well-worked passing move against Bolton, as Boro wiped the floor with the Trotters at the Toughsheet, and Kieffer Moore, who smashed home a long-range bullet against West Bromwich Albion for Wrexham.

In my opinion, it'll be a toss-up between Swanson and Bree, as Lankshear and Moore have scored goals aplenty this season.

Whereas, it's rare for both the Pompey defender, and his Saints counterpart, to light up contests with sumputous strikes, with voting open for the Goal of the Month until the 16th of November.

Eckert, after the dust had settled somewhat on the whirlwind three points at West Ham, declared Bree as a talent who can "do everything."

He will continue to be one of the first names on the German's teamsheet, that's for sure, regardless of whether he wins his second chance at an October prize or not.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow