Liam Manning has praised Bristol City’s strength in depth and has called on all of his players to be ready to make the step up when selected.
Competition for places has been fierce already this season after City added five permanent and two loan signings to the squad, while Tommy Conway was the only sizeable departure as he made a £4.5m move to Middlesbrough.
Indeed, Scott Twine made his loan move from the second half of last season permanent for £3.2m plus add ons from Burnley along with Clarets team-mate Luke McNally, who arrived at BS3 on transfer deadline day for a fee in the region of £1.75m.
The Turf Moore duo joined Sinclair Armstrong, who completed a switch from Championship rivals QPR for under £2m, Fally Mayulu – £2.5m from Rapid Vienna – and Marcus McGuane, who linked up with former boss Manning for an undisclosed fee from Oxford United. Yu Hirakawa and George Earthy also arrived at Ashton Gate on season-long loans from Machida Zelvia and West Ham respectively.
The strength of City’s summer recruitment has been utilised this season made evident by injuries to key players including Rob Dickie, Ross McCrorie and Hirakawa which hasn’t impacted the Robins’ style of play.
And the quality in depth is something Manning has applauded but has called on players who are out of the squad to step up when selected.
He told Bristol Live, “I think back to 10-11 months ago and the squad was extremely stretched and we weren’t able to (make significant changes). Whereas you look at it at the minute, we’re able to change games and have impact in games with what we bring on.
“It’s now a case of the lads staying focused on the team and being ready when called upon. The season has been quite slow in getting started. As we roll into the next few months and the volume of the game and the intensity of the program increases, you’re going to need the players and that depth.
“People are going to pick up injuries, they’re going to have dips in form and just the sheer volume of the program will mean you have to make changes at some time. So the fact we’ve got that depth and quality is a definite strength.”
With plenty of strength to come on from the bench, Manning has been able to make positive substitutions at vital points in games already this season. His changes have seen City pick up wins against Millwall and Oxford United when going behind as well as a 1-1 draw against Swansea City last time out.
And with the Robins coming close to a winner through substitute Mark Sykes on Sunday, the head coach praised the impact of the five players who came off the bench in South Wales.
He added, “Very good. We had it at Millwall at home, last week against Oxford United and again today. Them coming on definitely played a huge part in sustaining and raising the level, which is important because having five changes and being able to make five – especially with the attacking players.
“When you look at it now, their physical outputs, what they have to do versus what defenders and midfielders do is slightly different. So being able to bring on players like Nahki (Wells), Sykysey, Joe (Williams) and Pringy (Cam Pring) as well had a real big impact in us coming away with a point.”