Liam Manning makes Ipswich Town point amid Bristol City scepticism

Manning pointed towards the success of McKenna as he attempted to bat off scepticism.

Bristol City boss Liam Manning points to Kieran McKenna’s success at Ipswich Town to ease scepticism about his appointment.

Manning’s previous managerial experience includes taking MK Dons to the play-offs, although they struggled after losing key players.

Bristol City fans have mixed reactions to Manning’s appointment, concerned about his lack of experience in higher leagues, but he believes he is well-prepared.

Bristol City boss Liam Manning has pointed to Kieran McKenna’s success at Ipswich Town to try and reduce scepticism about his appointment, speaking to Bristol Live.

Manning is a highly-rated coach – but he is yet to be a manager of a side above League One.

Taking MK Dons to the play-offs, they lost out in the semis to Wycombe Wanderers and they lost some key players after that, including Scott Twine and Harry Darling.

With that, it’s perhaps no surprise that he struggled with them and he was sacked back in December.

It didn’t take him too long to get back into management though, arriving at Oxford United in March earlier this year and doing enough to keep them afloat in the third tier.

He then made an excellent start to this term with the U’s, with the club currently sitting in second place behind Portsmouth.

Considering how much Oxford struggled last season, their start to this season has been impressive and it seemingly impressed the Robins enough to make a move for him.

Liam Manning’s task at Bristol City

Manning now has the task of guiding the club into a respectable league position, although it’s unclear exactly what the club’s expectations for this season are.

Many fans thought the sacking of Nigel Pearson was a harsh one, so Manning is under a little bit of pressure to get things right as he looks to prove why it was the right decision to bring him in.

The hostile reaction from Birmingham City supporters to Wayne Rooney following Hull City’s 2-0 win there just goes to show that fans can turn very quickly if they aren’t happy with a managerial situation.

Why are some Bristol City’s supporters sceptical about Liam Manning’s appointment?

Some supporters have welcomed Manning with open arms, but others will be concerned about his lack of experience above the third tier.

He has eased these fears by picking out Ipswich boss McKenna as a successful example of someone who’s been able to take to the Championship very well, saying: “Football doesn’t change, right?

“That’s the biggest bit. I was fortunate when I was at West Ham, I spent the first seven, eight weeks working with the first team in the Europa League group, we’d have players across with us regularly and we’d train closely with the first team.