Bristol City head coach Liam Manning has looked ahead to what he believes is an “extremely difficult” away trip to face Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday.
On the anniversary of his appointment as the new Robins boss on this day last year, Manning shared his thoughts on what is a different Norwich side to the one his side faced last season.
The Canaries appointed head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup at the end of last season to replace David Wagner and have had a mixed start to this campaign, sitting one place below the Reds in 12th .
“[It’s] an extremely difficult game” the Robins boss said in his midweek press conference.
“You only have to see with the results [in the Championship], like Millwall beating Leeds last night, it’s so unpredictable. The margins are so fine, they’re so tight.
“It’s a tough game; Norwich obviously have had a decent start. I think they’re similar to us; they’ve got a few injuries themselves as well. It’s a tough place to go any time.
“But we should look forward to the challenge. I remember going there at the back end of last season and, performance-wise, it was one of the most enjoyable in terms of what we wanted the team to look like. We had a bit of everything that day, albeit not scoring the goals. In terms of a place to go, we know it’s difficult but it’s one that with any game we should be looking forward to.”
Thorup’s side will be a new test for Manning’s Reds, with it being the first time they will face up against the Dane’s Canaries.
“There are definitely differences in their set up and how they play and what they’re trying to do,” the 39-year-old head coach continued.
“There are certain similarities in terms of profile of players. When you’ve got certain players with certain qualities, they still come out. But there’s definitely a difference in what they’re doing now to last season. We’ll do our homework. We’ll make sure the players are aware. The biggest amount of work goes into us and what we need to do and playing the way that we want to. ”
The trip to Carrow Road could be an important place marker for Manning.
The game is sandwiched in-between the previous game, which saw the Robins’ unbeaten run come to an end, and the November international break and so provides a big opportunity to instantly respond to defeat and send fans and players away from Championship action in high spirits.
“It’s not the be all and end all but it’s important to do everything that you can,” Manning said regarding the end of the nine-game unbeaten streak.
“We lost to Blackburn Rovers and Derby Country in a row and then we responded and went on a decent run of performances and results. We’ll be doing everything as we do every single game, everything in our power to try and perform and win at the weekend.
“That’s the biggest bit for me; how do you respond? How do you stick together and reflect accurately? How do you not get too hung up on it? We can’t control it, it’s happened. We lost; we didn’t want to. We probably didn’t deserve to, but we decide what we carry forward from the past and that’s the big message for the players.
“When we arrive at Norwich, just before kick-off we decide what state we go into that game. We have to take confidence from the games so far, from our performances. We have to take belief, bravery, togetherness. There are so many things that we decide to carry forward and that’s a really important factor going into Saturday.”
City were hit with more injury trouble this week as both their win at Preston North End and home defeat the Blades added insult to an already large list of injuries.
The trip to Preston saw George Tanner and Joe Williams both make way in the first half, with the last-gasp defeat to United seeing Mark Sykes leave the pitch after just six minutes.
The Robins are now left with a slight conundrum in defence with so many players either injured, not fully fit, or suspended.
Manning offered some insight into the state of players heading into the final fixture before the international break.
“Kal Naismith and Sykes had scans today, so I’ll be waiting on a phone call to know the level of the injuries but not ideal and initially, my feeling is it’s not looking great,” the Englishman revealed.
“We expect Scott Twine to be training next week, hopefully. He’s definitely getting closer. You never know in terms of how they respond as you put them through the final stages with extra bits to tick off but he’s in a good spot and one that hopefully we’ll have back soon.
“Luke McNally’s is a concussion…it’s day by day with concussions. It’s possible that he could be involved but we’ll have to see how he comes through each of the tests.
“We’re expecting a few others back just after the international break. So, we’re a little stretched this weekend but after that I’m hoping to have a few more bodies back.”
In addition to the names mentioned by Manning, recent absentees Joe Williams, George Tanner and Ross McCrorie are all out for mid to long term periods, in addition to Rob Dickie who is suspended for the Norwich game.
Longer-term injuries for Sam Bell and Ayman Benarous mean they also remain out.
Subsequently, that leaves City’s available defenders to Zak Vyner, Rob Atkinson (who may not yet be up to speed), Cam Pring, youngster Elijah Morrison, and potentially Luke McNally.
Such losses in recent times have forced the Robins to be adaptable and they have shown a commendable ability to change shape and playing style in the moment to suit the game state and player availability.
“It’s a real strength of the group and of ours in how we work,” City’s Norwich-born head coach said proudly.
“I’ve said it recently around our philosophies and systems and I think there’s an element to that and, of course, it can’t just be ‘go and play and do what you want’. What the players have shown is that we can change shape, change system either between games or in game and they understand what they’re doing and understand our principles of play which is the key bit.
“It’s something that, whether we want to press higher, defend slightly deeper, whatever it is that we want to do, whatever system we want to play, the players understand their jobs. It’s credit to them and the staff for how we work.”