Liam Manning insists that he hasn’t heard of any transfer interest in Mark Sykes despite reports linking the winger with a move away from Ashton Gate ahead of Bristol City’s win over Blackburn Rovers.
The Robins ended a three-match winless run in all competitions against John Eustace’s side on Saturday afternoon as they secured all three points with a 2-1 win in the West Country.
Scott Twine gave the Reds an early lead when he curled home an excellent free-kick with just 12 minutes on the clock, but City were pegged back before half-time when former Ashton Gate hero Andi Weimann nodded home from close range.
For a while, it looked as though Austrian’s header would see the points shared, however, Nahki Wells turned home via a deflection late in the second half to ensure it would be the Robins who came away victorious. The win means Manning’s side have cut the gap to the play-off places to three points despite not quite hitting the standards expected of them against either Coventry City or Sheffield Wednesday.
On the eve of Saturday’s game, reports from Sky Sports emerged suggesting Stoke City were in talks to sign Sykes this month. Bristol Live understands the Ireland international is a player of interest to the Potters, but the Reds are believed to be keen to keep the winger at Ashton Gate.
Sykes featured off of the bench against Blackburn and after the full-time whistle, Manning confirmed that he was keen to keep the 27-year-old and admitted he was not aware of Stoke’s interest.
“No, I literally didn’t find out until I got my pre-media notes which had it on there,” the 39-year-old insisted. “I’ve not heard anything, no.
“Yes,” the City head coach continued when asked if the winger would be someone he was keen to keep. “He’s done well. For me, he’s done exactly what he’s needed to do recently.
“I thought he was excellent the other night, for me, he gets us the point with the quality on the crosses. For me, I haven’t heard of it no.”
Bristol City are yet to add to their squad so far this month and with just over a week left of the January transfer window, there haven’t been any major departures as of yet, other than Rob Atkinson who joined Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
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Manning has admitted in the past that he would be keen to add some new faces to his squad if possible before the window closes at the start of February. However, with time running out, the 39-year-old admits that keeping the current group together at Ashton Gate could be just as important as making some last-minute additions.
“Possibly,” he replied when asked if there could be a departure or two in the final days of the transfer window. “I think you never know until there’s something there in front of you to make a decision on.
“For me, it’s concentrating on the group we’ve got and see what presents itself in the last week, or two, what have we got?
“I think there’s a real strength in keeping what we’ve got together. You see it today I think the impact of the changes we make. Joe [Williams] was terrific when he came on and is still going to get better because of his return. Syksey the same.
“Of course, everybody will be looking at what’s going on but I think there’s a real strength in the group we’ve got as well.”