Liam Manning sends Bristol City message after major club announcement | OneFootball

Highlights

Liam Manning believes he is the right fit for Bristol City as he was named as Nigel Pearson’s replacement at Ashton Gate on a deal until 2027.

Liam Manning named as new Bristol City boss

The Robins made the surprise decision to sack Pearson following their 2-0 defeat to Cardiff at the end of October, with chairman Jon Lansdown stating the club were underperforming as they look to win promotion.

Since then, a host of names have been linked with the vacancy, but it became apparent in the past few days that they were targeting Manning following the fine work he has done with Oxford.

And, even though the U’s are flying high in League One, Manning has made the decision to leave for Bristol City, with the appointment announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Liam Manning sends Bristol City message

This is the first opportunity for the 38-year-old to manage at Championship level, with his only previous experience with Lommel in Belgium and MK Dons.

So, it’s a step-up for Manning, and he explained to the club’s media why he has decided to join the Robins, as he touched on their productive academy as an appealing aspect of the job.

“This is a terrific opportunity and one that I’m really looking forward to. If you look at the vision of the club and where they want to get to and how they want to get there I think this is a really good fit and alignment with my journey and where I want to get to.

“You want players that you can coach and are mouldable and on an upward trajectory in their career. I think that brings certain behaviours in terms of drive, intensity and ambition which align with how we want to work.”

What has Jon Lansdown said?

Clearly, this is a bold move from Bristol City, particularly as Pearson was a well-respected figure, and he is someone who has won promotion to the Premier League in the past.

So, there is a lot of pressure on Lansdown for this decision to work, and he told the official site why Manning is the one they went for.

“Liam is a great fit for the club and the style of play we want. He has a very detailed approach to coaching, improving players and getting the best out of them as his record at MK Dons and Oxford United shows, while he has valuable experience within the (Manchester) City Group and in Belgium.

“As soon as we made the change Liam was our first choice, and we are grateful to Oxford United for the extremely professional way they have approached the departure of someone who was doing a fantastic job for them.”

What next for Bristol City?

Curtis Fleming was in charge of the win over Sheffield Wednesday last time out, but he has now departed following Manning’s arrival, with the new boss to be assisted by Chris Hogg, who he was with at Oxford.

The new management team will now be preparing for the weekend trip to QPR, which will be their first game in charge of Bristol City.