Having been almost perfect over the festive period, Bristol City slipped to a first defeat in five matches this weekend when they welcomed Wolves to Ashton Gate.
The Robins’ FA Cup campaign came to an end after just 90 minutes as Vitor Pereira’s side secured a 2-1 win in the West Country to book their place in the fourth round.
Rayan Ait-Nouri gave the Premier League outfit an early lead when he bundled in a cross from the left-wing with just 10 minutes on the clock and only minutes later Rodrigo Gomes doubled the away side’s advantage with a composed, chipped finish past Max O’Leary.
Scott Twine reignited hopes of a Robins comeback when he curled home an excellent free-kick on the stroke of halftime, but the Reds were unable to beat Sam Johnstone again to force extra time.
Here’s a full transcript of every word Liam Manning said to the written press after the final whistle at Ashton Gate…
Liam, you must be frustrated to let them get ahead and then pick up after their two goals.
Yeah, definitely. I think it was a really good lesson, especially the first 25-30 minutes, in terms of the lads’ intent to press and the desire. Even the setup at times was good but if you’re half a yard off, you get picked off and you’re quickly defending your box. It was a good opener to the level, and the big bit is I was probably disappointed with was us with the ball. I think we turned it over too cheap.
I thought in the last 10 minutes of the first half we kind of got back into it, which speaks volumes for the lads, the togetherness, the resilience and the ability to respond like they did. Then obviously Twiney produces a moment of class that gets us back in it. Then in the second half, I thought we gave a really good account of ourselves.
Feels like we’re speaking about it every week, but his ability at these free-kicks really makes such a difference doesn’t it?
It’s not a coincidence, he practices it. I’ve seen it for years and now, and had him do it numerous times. It was a moment of real high quality, and I thought Twiney spoke really well just now in the changing room around belief. It was a big bit of what we showed in the second half. I thought we took more care of the ball and showed a bit of belief, a bit of purpose and took the game to them a little bit rather than being on the back foot. So there are a lot of positives to take from it, and also a lot of lessons.
Another Premier League team you have given a game right until the last minute, that belief can only be a good thing heading into the second half of the season?
Definitely. Every game we try to take as much from it as we can, any lesson and today’s another really good one for us. I just said to them in there, we have to take that back into the league. We’ve got a tough week coming up, so we have to make sure that we take all the lessons and try and use it to become better. We’re all aspiring to improve, that’s the culture we want and that’s what the club is built on. So we will be disappointed, and rightly so today, but we’ll be back in on Monday ready to use it to inspire us to get better.
It’s not a nice question to ask, but I’m sure you heard the reaction when Fally Mayulu came off. I wondered what you made of that.
I don’t want to be presumptuous but if it was aimed at Fally, it’s really poor. It’s a club that’s got a history for providing a platform for young players to progress and I think it’s one of those. He needs support, everyone needs support. Unfortunately, anything can happen inside a football stadium now. It seems it’s the only place where you can get away with doing anything. If it was aimed at him, I think it was really poor. He’s one of ours, we should get behind our own, and we should support each other. I can speak first-hand about how terrific and what impact that can have so hopefully it wasn’t aimed at Fally because I think it’s really poor if it was.
In general what did you make of his performance? There seems to be a bit more composure about his press and his off-the-ball work.
He’s getter better. He’s trained well, he’s shown bits, he’s turned it over a couple of times naturally which everyone does but some of his movement was good. Some of his link-up was good so was the counterattack he put Anis [Mehmeti] in on, in the second half. He just needs time, I think that’s the biggest bit now. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people are extremely impatient and want everything now but when you’re signing players with potential, they’re going to need time, they’re going to have ups and they’re going to have downs.
It’s the same with Anis last season. Anis didn’t play, came in, didn’t set the world alight but he’s having a good season this season and that’s why I think he’s the perfect example that you need to be patient with players. Even more so when you’re signing young lads who are humans, who do suffer with confidence and anxiety. The lads feel it like anybody does so the biggest bit is that we’ll control what we can and keep working.
You mentioned last week that you know what to look out for in his game for progress because you know the particular things you’ve been working on. Could you shed some light on what those areas of improvement are?
Is this interview about Fally or the game?
Fally, last week you mentioned you’ve got specific things you’re looking for, I’m just intrigued about what in particular that is.
Yeah, there are things that I know I am looking for, so I’ll keep working with Fally.
How is Marcus McGuane?
Yeah, he took a bang to his head, so we’ll have a look. I haven’t (heard anything). I’ve just come out and done this straight away, so we’ll have to assess. But yeah, he took a whack to the head, so we’ll have to see.
Rob Dickie missed out due to illness. Is he feeling any better?
He was in yesterday for his first day, He was in bed for three days after the game [against Derby County]. It hit him quite hard but he’s definitely improving and feeling better. He was in yesterday and he was in this morning doing some stuff out on the grass so expecting him back in with the group on Monday.
Wolves obviously named a strong team, what did you think when the teamsheet came out?
Great, it’s what you want to see. You want to test yourself, and you want to find out. It’s where everybody’s aspiring to get to, the Premier League, right? I think when you look at what we’re trying to do here, the players, the staff, everybody, that’s the aspiration. So you want to test yourself against that level.
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It’s one of those where I think it’s good for us to see where we’re at, hence the lessons. I think there are some good lessons on things that we need to do, to get better at, which we were under no illusions of before the game. There are bits to take confidence from, definitely.
Premier League teams often field weaker sides, especially at this stage of the competition. Do you think it’s a good sign that they showed respect to you and the competition putting out that side?
Yeah, and I have to say that they were quite complimentary after the game as well, their staff. Whatever team they put out, you only have to look at the investment of the players on the bench. You know it’s going to be a difficult game when they’ve invested in the squad like they have. I always look at us, what I can control and how we perform, and I thought the lads did some really good bits today, and like I said, there are some bits we need to do better.
You mentioned Scott Twine was passionate in the changing room, is he becoming more of a leader, with a game like today, you must be feeling really positive about him.
Yeah, definitely. Like said, I’ve worked with Twiney before and I’ve known him a long time. He never shies away from responsibility, you know, stepping up and delivering in that moment, and repeatedly doing it. He never hides from getting the ball or asking questions, and trying to make things happen.
If you assess his first half of the season, we were obviously disappointed that we didn’t have him for quite a period. You only have to look at what he’s done in the last month to six weeks to see the impact he can have at the level. He’s someone that we need to keep fit and we need to keep him in a good place because when he does, he can produce performances like he did today. I thought he was excellent.