Bristol City host Burnley in the Championship on Saturday afternoon as they look to pick up where they left off before the international break having beaten Norwich City last time out.
The Robins have failed to win any of their last four matches at Ashton Gate and, although they have only lost two league games in front of the home crowd so far this season, they are keen to start turning their draws into victories.
Liam Manning’s side currently sit 10th in the league table, only three points adrift of the play-off positions, and a win at the weekend could see them climb into the top-six, if results elsewhere go their way.
Meanwhile, Scott Parker’s Burnley are well in the race for the automatic promotion spots with seven wins from their opening 15 Championship matches helping them climb to fourth in the table.
The Clarets have proven hard to beat, only conceding six goals in the league so far this term, but like the Robins, they have been guilty of failing to convert draws into wins this season.
As always, Manning spoke to local media on Wednesday to preview this weekend’s game. Here’s a full transcript of what the City manager said…
Liam a press conference with a difference, we’re not at the HPC we’re at St Paul’s Community Centre, care to tell us why?
We’re out with the foundation, visiting some schools and getting into the community to see some of the important work the foundation does so me, Marcus [McGuane] and Anis [Mehmeti] are here.
The lads will be joining in with the session and I’ll be watching a bit of it so it’s great to get out in the community, interact with fans and see some of the terrific work that’s going on.
I saw Anis go into the cage to watch the game and 10 minutes later they’re playing, I hope they don’t get any injuries.
I’m more worried for the other players knowing those two, especially Marcus and maybe less so Anis. I think it’s massive, the position we’re in and the responsibility it carries to inspire people and give something back, to integrate and show how important the game is.
You’ve got two terrific lads in there that will have experienced playing in cages growing up so who knows where the next Anis Mehmeti will be.
It’s not just City is it? Across the EFL we’re seeing initiatives like that this week.
It’s huge, obviously, personally, I can only speak from recent experiences of what the game has done for me but when you’re looking at the game and what it does from a health perspective, a social perspective. From so many angles it gives so much and that’s why I love coming out to watch different ages and levels of the game. I think it’s such a special thing that gives so much.
Are we going to see you kick a ball?
Probably not, I’ve got a meeting afterwards and I want to make sure I’m fit for that.
We can go through a number of players but what can you tell us about those on the treatment table? Who is close and any updates for those who aren’t close?
We’ve got a few that are close, I don’t want to give my hand for the weekend on who might be back and who might not to be honest but we’ve definitely got some that are a lot closer. There are a couple that are possible and a few doubts.
[Scott] Twiney’s done a little bit, but still a question mark on whether he’s available but he’s getting close which is great considering the period we’ve got coming up. Ross [McCrorie] is out on the grass, still a couple of weeks away but progressing well. We’ve obviously got Rob Dickie back which is good coming into a heavy period. It’s good to get some more bodies back and more quality.
That’s the big bit, we’re going into a heavy period in a slightly different stage to where I think we were last year. We’ve got depth, we’ve got competition, and we’ve got the options to make changes and sustain if not raise our level in recent weeks. So I think the squad is in a good place. Of course, we want to get people back but when we get people back we want to keep them back.
Rob Atkinson is continuing his comeback playing for the Under-21s, how close is he to coming back into the first-team squad now?
He’s been on the bench, he’s fully training with us. It’s one of those when you’ve missed such a long period, especially with the position that he plays, the chances of coming off the bench as a substitute as a centre-back are slightly slimmer than if you’re a wide player or a front player for example.
It’s making sure Rob doesn’t go two, three, four weeks without playing match minutes as I think it’s really important for him to keep building up that bank of workload. He’s done well in the Under-21 games and he’s now had consecutive 90 minutes which is really important to him given what he’s missed so he’s definitely moving in the right direction.
Sam Bell, how close is he to a return?
There’s a possibility Belly will play in the Under-21s on Monday. He’s been training fully, he looks really sharp and I don’t want to jinx anything but he’s looking well so hopefully he can continue that.
Kal Naismith?
Naisy’s not too far away either. We expect to see him out on the grass soon as well so he’s progressing nicely.
The last injury question then we’ll move on, Joe Williams and George Tanner. It was quite vague before the international break, any news on them?
Joe’s going to be out for some considerable time, he has a partial tear of the Achilles. He was actually in London today to see the specialist but we’re talking months for Joe. It’s a really unfortunate one and one that’s tricky to heal just because of how the Achilles tend to repair so he’s one we’re going to have to be careful with.
George is moving nicely, he’s a bit ahead of schedule. When you see the video back it’s a really innocuous fall. He does the splits and lands funny with his knee so he’s actually on the ‘Alter-G’ we call it, the antigravity treadmill running at a certain percent of body weight. He’s progressing well.
A tremendous win at Norwich. Where are we at with Bristol City, you’re 10th in the league it’s all very tight and congested towards the top of the table, how much more do you want from your team?
I always want a lot more to be totally honest. I really enjoyed a large amount of probably that week, Preston away then into Sheffield United where for 80, 85 minutes the performance was excellent and then the frustration at the end.
Then you go into a really tough away game at Norwich where they haven’t lost at home in over a year and you’re a little bit unsure of what you’re going to get because it’s a difficult place to go and I thought the lads were tremendous. I thought we controlled the game really well without the ball, we pressed, and we were aggressive.
When you look at that week, the consistency of performances, obviously two out of the three results, but how we responded to the defeat speaks volumes about the lads and where they’re at, at the minute. That’s the bit we’ve got to keep and harness.
Sheffield United was one of your best home performances of the season, but what would it mean to bring a Middlesbrough or Norwich to your home fans at Ashton Gate and win at home?
I have to say, the actual record at home results-wise has been very good so I don’t think it’s like we’ve been poor at home, I actually think the results have been very, very good. The performance that night was very good as well.
We’ve said it numerous times, we want to make a difficult place for opponents to come. We want to be aggressive, on the front foot, hit the level that we know we’re capable of, and give everything and that’s the biggest bit the lads have done recently and throughout most of the season so far is be all in on everything and I think you’ve seen that.
I think the lads have hit a consistent level of performance and it’s now about how do you sustain that across such a tough, relentless November and December.
Starting with Burnley, Premier League credentials, and Scott Parker. I think they’re fourth in the table, how big a challenge is it on Saturday?
It’s a tough challenge but I’ve said it every week haven’t I? I think the margins are really tight this year. We know they’ve got depth, we know they’ve got some really good players, we know they’re going to be difficult to play against, but I honestly do feel like that every week.
Teams are that well set up and there are that many good players in the league now that if you’re not quite at it, you switch off a little bit or you make a little error, I think you can get punished for it and that’s what you see across every game in the Championship.
The message to the lads is that we shouldn’t and won’t fear anybody, I think it’s a case of stepping onto the pitch and taking confidence in the performances and the games we’ve had recently and we’re at home, so go and take the game to them.
Christmas is around the corner, but you’ve got a lot of football to play between now and then with midweek trips to Watford and Sunderland. How crucial is that period before Christmas?
I think every game has to be seen as a cup final ultimately, that’s the kind of mindset we need to have. Every game is of equal importance, 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.
Sorry that my first-ever question is about injuries but Jason was suspended for the clash with England, in their first statement Ireland mentioned an injury. Was that just a miscommunication?
That’s a miscommunication, he’s fit, Knighty.
Burnley have one of the best defensive records in the league having only conceded four goals away from home this season. There have been a few questions about City have played against the low block, is it a different challenge compared to games against Leeds and Sheffield United at home?
I think there’s a perception right that because you have loads of the ball against the low block you should create loads of chances, but naturally they’ve got more bodies around their box that makes it harder to then get into. Also, I don’t think Burnley are a low block, I don’t think they’ll come here and sit off.
For me, they’re really well organised, and they don’t give up a huge amount of chances because of their set-up but I do think they’re not a passive team. They do get up the pitch, they’ll get after it, they’ll block when they have to and I think that’s what we expect at the weekend.
So much was made before the international break about how tough the fixtures were before the break. I know you’ll say there are no easy games in the Championship but is this run into Christmas a chance to show City can push for the top-six this season?
For me, people look at runs of games. I think back to the Cardiff game where everyone was disappointed that we drew at home and they went and won their next three which just shows how different the division is and how teams can bounce at different times.
You saw it at the end of last season when teams at the top had a wobble, it’s natural. It’s more how do you take it game by game? How do you see consistent elements from the performance of what we’re trying to do? Are we competitive in every game which bar one that comes to mind this season we have been.
Every game is difficult, I don’t think you can look at a game and go we’ll win that won, we’ll lose that one, that one’s easy and that one’s hard. We don’t do that. You have to show every single team in this division the respect they deserve because of how difficult it is and the level of work going into it. For me, we concentrate on living in the present, concentrate on Saturday, and if we can get the outcome that we want and get the win that we want it will put us in a better position.
Is that something you look forward to? It’s been such a stop-start beginning to the season and I know you get time on the grass during the break, but is that sort of run until March without a break something you revel in?
I can’t wait for it to be honest, it’s felt a little bit stop-start and a little bit slow. I think after the performance and result at Norwich, you probably want to bounce into another game straight away, whereas sometimes the break is welcome where you can get the opportunity to work.
For me, I know I am and I know the players are really looking forward to going into a really heavy game period, mainly because we’ve got depth, the lads culturally are in a terrific spot, we’ve got options that we can make changes, we can play people out of position as we’ve seen. George Earthy was terrific over the last few weeks so we can do things like that and when I look at the physical capacity of the group and also the age of the group, with things like recovery and having such a heavy period, I’m hoping will help us with the qualities that we’ve got.
On George he’s been away with England U21s, I’m sure you would have liked time on the training ground with him but how big a statement is it to have a player, albeit on loan, away with that group?
It’s a massive thing. He does it ultimately because of how he’s performed in the games that he’s had it speaks volumes about him. He’s a terrific character, forget him positionally, he’s just a really good footballer with a really good brain and he’s shown that.
He’s done terrifically with us and it’s great that any player gets international recognition. I think it’s important I highlight Jamie Knight-Lebel as well for making his debut for Canada. In the full squad last night which again, for him and his family and everyone that’s worked with him at some point should be a hugely proud moment and that’s a big part of why you do it, to see people go and achieve something like that so he deserves a huge amount of credit.
He’s doing really well on loan at Crewe and he’s someone that we keep watching and are keeping an eye on so I know everyone, Brian included, everyone should be extremely proud of what they’ve done with him.
Bristol City Live on Whatsapp
Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone
Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
I guess that can only be a good thing for you and the club, I was at the U21s on Monday and to have the likes of Elijah Morrison and Josh Campbell-Slowy pushing for those first-team places can only be positive.
Definitely, it’s really important to me that there is that opportunity and there is that pathway which while I’m here and with the history of the club it will always be the case and always be really important. I also think it’s really important that it’s earned.
I think it’s a really dangerous thing when you give people opportunities or you throw them in because you’re light on numbers because sometimes you can create a false expectation in the player’s head as well. So I think it’s really important that we always have that pathway there and to the same point, it has to be earned.
But when I look at some of the lads you’ve mentioned there, I thought Elijah in the two games he played recently, he did a terrific job and is one that came with us and had to go back with the U21s for a little bit to get some confidence, a bit of success and consolidate a little bit and he’s come back at a higher level.
That for me is how it should look with certain young players and I have to say Josh Campbell-Slowy is another one who’s been training consistently with us, similar to what Jamie did last year and Josh has been excellent as well, he’s continually improved and he’s someone that I’m excited by. It’s now a case of him keeping his head down, keep pushing, and trying to sustain the level that he’s shown consistently in training.
At the other end of the age scale, Nahki’s been in incredible form before the international break, he’s been first first-choice striker for the last few months. With games coming thick and fast, is this an opportunity for both Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu to get a few more starts under their belt?
The opportunity for people to start is there for everybody. I pick a team to win the game on Saturday, I think that’s the most important thing, and 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.
Fally got off to an absolute flier 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, 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. Its a case of there being a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see so 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. 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 have to grab it.