JAMES FORD has admitted he is "surprised" to have been nominated as League One coach of the year.

The York City Knights head coach will compete with Swinton Lion's John Duffy and Oldham's Scott Naylor for the prize, which will be announced at the Kingstone Press Championship and League One annual dinner in Manchester on Monday.

Ford, in his first season at the helm of the Knights, will be joined at the ceremony by Greg Minikin, who has been shortlisted for League One young player of the year along with Newcastle Thunder's Matty Beharrell and Swinton's Ben White.

Describing himself as "chuffed" to be recognised in this fashion, Ford still said he would swap the nomination and the chance of winning the award if it would guarantee the Knights were promoted at the end of the season.

"I was surprised," he said after hearing the news. "There are a lot of good coaches in this competition who have been doing well for a number of years.

"I am very grateful and very proud for the nomination – but I think it is not just for me but for the whole backroom staff.

"They have worked really hard and have been committed to the club through a really testing time. It is my name that is nominated but it is not about the individual. It is a team award.

"They, and the players, have kept going and still have a chance of fulfilling our goal. The players need to take a big part, if not all, of the praise for that."

Ford has overseen a Knights outfit that is in third place in the table and has won 15 games – despite the trauma of having no permanent home and having had to swap, beg and borrow for training facilities throughout a chunk of the campaign when the club were outside the Community Stadium project.

Despite his achievements, though, Ford insisted that Minikin's shortlisting gave him "more satisfaction".

He said: "It's seeing a young player come through the club and develop not only into a very good player but an outstanding young man as well.

"He certainly gets all our respect. I am really pleased for him and all the boys are too."

Ford added: "I would certainly sacrifice the nomination and the chance of winning the award for promotion for the team and the club.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful – I am really chuffed – but what is more important is that we keep focused and try and improve and give ourselves as much chance of winning the remaining games as possible."

While Ford and Minikin have been recognised, no Knights players were included in the shortlist for the League One player of the year.

That category will see Swinton duo Andy Ackers and Richie Hawkyard go head-to-head with Lewis Palfrey and George Tyson from table-toppers Oldham.

In the Championship, Paul Rowley of Leigh Centurions is shortlisted for coach of the year for the third time alongside Halifax's Richard Marshall and James Coyle of Whitehaven.

The 2014 Championship young player of the year, Ryan Brierley of Leigh, is in the running for this year's award and features on a three-man shortlist with Lee Gaskell, of Bradford Bulls, and Halifax's Scott Murrell.

Two Featherstone Rovers players are vying for the Championship young player of the year award, with Jordan Baldwinson and Thomas Minns joined by Joel Farrell of Dewsbury Rams on the shortlist.