Liam Manning’s thoughts on Norwich City squad he’ll inherit

The current Bristol City chief is set to become the first Canaries head coach to be poached from a divisional rival since the 2009 hiring of Paul Lambert, who left Colchester United to join Norwich in League One.

While Manning can’t boast the same 7-1 away victory over City that Lambert could when he was interviewed by David McNally, there’s no doubting the positive impression that the Robins’ league double left on sporting director Ben Knapper last term.

The first of those came as the first home defeat at Carrow Road for more than a year, an injury-hit side losing 2-0 as Johannes Hoff Thorup’s honeymoon period quickly wore off.

Before that game the ex-MK Dons boss was keen to highlight what a fortress the stadium can be, calling on his side to embrace the task in November 2024.

Manning’s Bristol City side brought the Canaries’ unbeaten home run to an end last year (Image: PA)“It’s a tough game, Norwich have obviously had a decent start,” he said.” It’s a tough place to go at any time, but at the same time we should look forward to the challenge.

“I remember going there at the back end of last season (2023-24), and performance-wise it was actually one of the most enjoyable in terms of what we want the team to look like. We had a bit of everything that day, albeit not scoring the goals.

“So I think as a place to go we know it’s difficult, but we should be looking forward to any game.”

That prior meeting under David Wagner finished 1-1, Borja Sainz tapping in shortly after Hayden Roberts had opened the scoring. His goal, combined with the red-hot form Sainz took into the game, inspired a targeted tactical approach from the 39-year-old.

“We knew the threat [Sainz] carried but I have to say he was up against George Earthy in only his second start, who did a terrific job,” Manning explained. “We knew he liked to come inside on his right foot, so when he did we had good bodies there.

“That is why we went with the shape that we did. When he came inside he encountered a lot of traffic. We did a really good job of restricting a really, really good player to very little.”

The 39-year-old planned specifically to stop Borja Sainz (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)Part of Manning’s status as the overwhelming favourite for the job comes from his style of play, which, like Thorup’s, is based on control and proactivity. One element he may look to change, however, is the way that Norwich play out from the back.

He revealed in March that he saw that as a frailty of the previous regime, and set out to exploit it in a 2-1 win at Ashton Gate.

“We felt that if we could get the press right, because they want to build up and spend quite a bit of time on that, we could regain it near their goal and cause problems that way,” he said.

“But naturally they’re very, very good at it. So when they get it right they’re through you, which is then about a group of lads all running to get back behind the ball. I thought we produced some really high moments of quality.

“It was an eventful game. It would have been a lot more comfortable in the last few minutes obviously if we hadn’t conceded. I thought it was a good game of football.”

Despite those victories on the way to play-off qualification, Manning’s overall assessment of the group he’s set to take over is a positive one.

“They’ve got some top players,” he continued. “When you look at their front line, especially with the front three, they’ve got some top, top players and they are well coached.”