Liam Manning has challenged Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong to grab their opportunity as Bristol City enter a “heavy game period” in the run-up to the festive schedule.
The Robins are looking to build on their impressive win over Norwich City at Carrow Road last time out when they return to Championship action against Burnley on Saturday in their first game after the November international break.
On paper, the Ashton Gate clash will be a difficult test for the City frontline. Scott Parker’s side have only conceded six goals in their opening 15 league matches this season and only four of those have come away from Turf Moor.
Although the expectation is that Nahki Wells will retain his place in the starting line-up, Manning insists that both Mayulu and Armstrong are continuously improving behind the scenes and believes both forwards will have a role to play over the coming weeks and months at Ashton Gate.
“The opportunity for people to start is there for everybody,” Manning explained ahead of Saturday’s clash. “I pick a team to win the game on Saturday, I think that’s the most important thing.
“What we’ve spoken around and been quite clear on is that we wanted competition, we wanted different physical profiles and everybody has seen probably the best and worst of Sincs and Fally at some point.”
Mayulu was City’s first permanent addition of the summer, making the move to the Championship from Rapid Vienna having scored six goals in just 28 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga last season.
The French forward got off to an excellent start despite his limited league minutes at the start of the campaign, coming off of the bench to score in the Robins’ opening-day draw with Hull City before interchanging brilliantly with Max Bird to secure his first Ashton Gate goal in the dramatic 4-3 win over Millwall.
Although those early displays got the City faithful out of their seats, Manning believes Mayulu’s excellent start to the campaign may have raised expectations among supporters a bit too quickly.
“Fally got off to an absolute flier,” the Reds boss explained. “Which then creates a certain level of expectation which to sustain, there’s so many bits to work on.
“He’s a really exciting talent, but he’s someone that naturally when you’re integrating and having to adjust to being here in England, the climate, the culture, language, food, it’s hard to sustain that when you’re 22 years old.
“He’s somebody that’s going to play a really important part in the short, medium, and long term future here, the same with Sincs. It’s a case of there being a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see.
“Although their match minutes may not be the highest at the minute, there’s a huge amount of work that goes into developing them behind the scenes. Both of them, finishing, care in and around the box, link-up play, defensive work, that’s continuous.”
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The Robins’ clash with Burnley on Saturday is the first in a run of seven games in the run-up to Christmas, with midweek away trips to the likes of Watford and Sunderland coming up on the calendar.
Although Manning and City’s focus remains entirely on the immediate task at hand against Scott Parker’s side, the Robins boss knows that he will have to call upon the entirety of his squad as he looks to navigate the busy schedule.
“I think every game has to be seen as a cup final ultimately,” he explained. “That’s the kind of mindset we need to have. Every game is of equal importance, we don’t think too far ahead, assess where we are on Saturday, and then get ready to go again on Tuesday.
“For me we can’t be looking too far ahead, it’s game by game and I think that will be the consistent message. What I then know is we’re going to need them. I think that’s the most important bit and we’ve seen that in recent games.
“They’ve got to keep their head down, they’ve got to keep working, they’ve got to keep pushing, and when they get the opportunity they’ve got to grab it.”