Luke Williams has told Bristol City that they should “completely back” Liam Manning over a sustained period of time to help him build a play-off-ready side, following the Reds’ defeat to Swansea City.
The Robins missed the chance to climb into the top six of the Championship as they were beaten 1-0 by the Swans on Sunday afternoon, with Josh Tymon’s second-half strike proving to be the difference between the two teams. The 25-year-old turned home from close range after Max O’Leary pushed Goncalo Franco’s shot into his path.
Although City had several chances of their own, with Jason Knight, Luke McNally and Sam Bell all forcing good saves from Lawrence Vigouroux, they were unable to beat the Swansea keeper and slipped to a first home Championship defeat of 2025.
Despite getting the better of Manning’s side over the course of the 90 minutes at Ashton Gate, Williams was eager to praise the Robins after the full-time whistle, insisting they have “every chance” of booking their place in the top six this season.
“I do,” Williams said when asked if he felt the Robins were genuine play-off contenders. “I think he’s a brilliant manager, it was a very smart appointment from the club and I think he has steadily shown his identity on the pitch.
“He has a team that are very motivated, very difficult to play against and I can see why they’ve been on such a good run and why they’re in such good form. I think they have every chance.
“It’s nothing to do with me, but my suggestion would be to completely back this manager over a long period of time and allow him to try and build a squad that can compete in the top six. I think they’re very close to that already so I think the future is very bright for Bristol City.”
There was understandably a feeling of frustration in and around Ashton Gate on Sunday afternoon. Despite dominating possession and putting Swansea under plenty of pressure, Manning’s Reds were not able to produce the moment of quality needed to take something from a game most expected them to win.
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For much of the first half, it was almost one-way traffic with the away side’s backline struggling to stop the Robins threatening from set-pieces. Although Williams admitted it felt as though his side were “under huge pressure” in the opening period, he was keen to shine a light on his players for their resilient approach out of possession.
“What I wanted them to do was defend our box in a really, really impressive way that shows everybody they’re determined to do everything they can to try and keep the ball out of the back of the net,” explained the Swansea boss. “Because we knew the opposition are in good form, they’re in a good place, they’re at home.
“I think if we came and tried to play a more open game and we didn’t have that mentality to be resilient in front of our own goal, I think the game could have been very different for us. I was happy that they were well-prepared, that we understood what was coming and that they were strong enough and resilient enough to stand up to that.
“Even at half-time we probably had two very clear-cut chances in a game where we’ve been under huge pressure. The second half, we were under a bit less pressure, but we still created some very good chances so it was an incredibly tough game, no doubt about it.”