Liam Manning has confessed that Sinclair Armstrong would be playing Premier League football rather than lining up for Bristol City if he were the “finished article” following the Robins’ win over Middlesbrough.
Armstrong started his third consecutive Championship game as the Reds’ came from behind to beat Michael Carrick’s side 2-1 at Ashton Gate on Friday evening, thanks to a second-half brace from George Earthy.
Former City striker Tommy Conway had given Boro the lead in the first half when he headed in from close range after Max O’Leary had been unable to hold Kelechi Iheanacho’s initial shot. However, substitute Earthy twice turned home from close range in the second half to ensure all three points remained in the West Country.
Although he wasn’t able to score his first goal of 2025, Armstrong once again impressed as he caused the Middlesbrough defence all sorts of problems. On another day he could have opened his account for the calendar year in the first half, as he had Mark Travers beaten with a long-range curling effort that just drifted over the crossbar.
Since returning from injury at the end of January, Armstrong has looked rejuvenated and hungry whenever he has stepped foot on the pitch in City colours and Manning believes the “stability” on offer at Ashton Gate has helped him hit his stride in the West Country.
“Time and patience,” the head coach replied when asked what was behind the forward’s improvement in recent weeks. “Patience is probably something that doesn’t exist a huge amount in the world today, but I was quite clear from day one when Sincs came in that he’s not the finished article. He’s potential, we’ve signed potential. If he were the finished article he’d be worth a fortune playing in the Premier League so we wouldn’t have been able to get him.
“I think it was quite clear that when he came in, he needed work and him having consistency, him being coached, him having stability I think has been really important for him. His character is excellent, when he hasn’t been in the team, he’s trained hard. When he’s been in the team, he’s trained hard and I think he’s responded really well to that. He’s in a good spot and he’s performed really well recently.”
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Having played three games in the space of seven days in the week prior to Friday evening’s clash with Middlesbrough, the Robins now have a rare gap in their schedule. As a result of Millwall’s progression to the fifth round of the FA Cup, City are not in action until a week on Tuesday when they travel to The Den to face Alex Neil’s Lions.
The trip to East London kickstarts another busy spell for the Reds, with games against Hull City, Sheffield United and Norwich City to follow in the following 10 days after the clash with the Canaries was moved to Friday, March 14 having been selected for broadcast by Sky Sports.
Manning, who has been open about his frustration with the schedule in the past, is hoping to use the break in fixtures to afford his team some recovery time as they prepare for a run of games that could prove to be decisive in their season.
“Look, it’s one of those where it is what it is,” said the City head coach. “I know I moaned about it recently, but it’s irrelevant to a certain extent what I think. No one is going to change anything.
“We’ve got a period now where we can give the lads a couple of days to recharge because even from the weekend to tonight [Middlesbrough] was quite a quick turnaround. We’ll give the lads a few days, in work next week and get ready to go again.”