Sheffield United clinched the title and promotion back to the second tier of English football after finishing an impressive 14 points ahead of Bolton Wanderers, who will join them in the Championship next season.

Chris Wilder’s side ended the season with a century of points as they returned to the Championship after a six-year absence – this all after losing three of their first four league matches, and sitting bottom of the table on August 20 after a 2-1 loss at Millwall.

And the Lions will fight for a place alongside the Blades in the second tier next term after clinching the final play-off spot on the last day, joining Scunthorpe United, Fleetwood Town, and Bradford City in the end of season lottery.

At the bottom, Port Vale’s run of five straight defeats means they will be playing in League Two alongside Swindon, Chesterfield and Coventry come August, with the likes of Shrewsbury, Bury, and Gillingham narrowly avoiding the drop on a tense final day of the campaign.

So, following a frantic month of action in English football’s third tier, here are Shoot!‘s Manager, Player, and Goal of the Month awards for April in League One…

Manager of the Month – Chris Wilder (Sheffield United)

Success breeds success they say and that is certainly true at Bramall Lane as Chris Wilder guided the Blades firstly to promotion, then the League One title, and then a haul of 100 points.

April was a month in which they did what they had been doing all season – won a lot of games. Six of them to be precise, with four clean sheets and sixteen goals scored.

Wilder has made himself hot property too – it’s now successive titles and promotions for him following Northampton’s exploits last year.

Player of the Month – Leon Clarke (Sheffield United)

Experienced centre-forward Leon Clarke proved that age is just a number in April as the 32-year-old helped propel the Blades to promotion.

Strikes against Coventry, Northampton, Port Vale, Bradford, and MK Dons were key as he scored six goals in six appearances overall.

Only Chesterfield’s defence managed to keep him at bay, and that owes more to the fact that he had to go off after 42 minutes of United’s final game of a superb season than anything else.

Goal of the Month – Andreas Makris (WALSALL v Oxford)

Oxford were still harbouring hopes of achieving a play-off place when they travelled to the Bescot Stadium to face mid-table Walsall on April 8.

However, their hopes were somewhat dashed thanks to a piece of brilliance from Andreas Makris three minutes into the second half.

The 21-year-old brilliantly controlled on the edge of the box before unleashing a dipping volley past the despairing Simon Eastwood in the Oxford goal.

The U’s did gain a point from the occasion, but ultimately fell short in the race for a play-off place, finishing eighth and four points behind sixth place Millwall.