Fulham's Roy Hodgson was, on Monday evening, named manager of the year by the League Managers' Association.
Hodgson, who has taken the London side to Wednesday’s final of the Europa League, has been recognised by his peers after a season in which his side were also comfortably in mid-table from early on in the Premier League.
They will face Atletico Madrid in the Hamburg decider less than two-and-a-half years after Hodgson took over a team who looked set doomed to relegation. He has since kept them up, got them into Europe and his latest efforts have brought the plaudits.
Hodgson was beaten to the Premier League award by Harry Redknapp, who has led Tottenham Hotspur into the Champions League, but the Fulham boss’s efforts are worthy of the overall prize according to LMA Chairman Howard Wilkinson.
He said: "Since joining Fulham, Roy has transformed the club's fortune.
"He initially saved them from the brink of relegation then took them to their highest ever league position (seventh) last season. This year he has capitalised on that platform, achieving remarkable success in this season's Europa League.
"He is highly respected by the LMA members and also on an international level where he has worked his miracles in no fewer than seven countries. He is a great role model for all aspiring managers and coaches and is fully deserving of this recognition."
Elsewhere, Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton is the Coca Cola Championship manager of the year, with the League One and League Two awards going respectively to Norwich City's Paul Lambert and Rochdale's Keith Hill.
Steve McClaren, who has just been named manager of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, won the LMA's special merit award after guiding FC Twente to the Dutch title, while Arsenal director Ken Friar won the service to football award and Ron Atkinson was inducted to the LMA's Hall of Fame.
Richard Bevan, chief executive of the LMA, said of all the award winners: "Tonight is a celebration of this season's managerial achievements throughout all four leagues at the highest level.
"To be voted for and acknowledged by your fellow members, peers and competitors is a great honour and the ultimate accolade is public recognition of success.
"The manager remains the most important man at a football club and to succeed in this profession requires extreme dedication and commitment.
"Roy Hodgson received an overwhelming number of votes from the members and has won the LMA Manager of the Year Award sponsored by Barclays by the most significant margin in the history of the award.
"He is highly respected within the game and held in the highest regard in the family of football. He freely gives up his time to help other coaches and managers develop and hone their skills and talents, regularly contributing to the LMA's educational programmes."