Bristol City head coach Liam Manning has admitted he put his “neck on the line” to bring Scott Twine to Ashton Gate permanently last summer after the midfielder scored in the Reds’ win over Blackburn Rovers.
The creative midfielder, who won the 2021-22 League One Player of the Season award in his one season under Manning at MK Dons, reunited with his old boss on a short-term basis last January but endured a challenging loan period at Ashton Gate.
Twine got off to the perfect start in red and white, heading City level in a 1-1 draw at home to Watford on his debut last January, but suffered a quad injury during the game, that left him sidelined for the following ten weeks.
He returned to action just before the March international break, appearing as a substitute in a 2-0 loss away to West Brom, but had to wait another seven games to find the net again, when he scored a free-kick in a 2-0 win over Rotherham United.
The 25-year-old reunited with Manning on a permanent basis in August, signing a four-year deal in move believed to be worth around £3.2m plus add-ons. While it was a risky deal, the addition of Twine has paid off on multiple occasions already this season.
“I put my neck on the line a little bit to try and bring him here in the summer,” Manning revealed after Twine scored his sixth goal of the season, an outstanding free-kick that gave the Robins the lead in a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
“I know he had a frustrating time during the loan here from January to the end of last season. In the last six to eight games, we kind of got to see what he was about.
“He is someone I’ve worked with for a long time now, know extremely well, and have a good relationship with. You have to give him an element of freedom to be creative and to try things, and accept at times it will go wrong. But again, I think that’s what you get with creative players, so he’s in a good spot.
“Madly, I didn’t think he was great the other night at Sheffield Wednesday. I thought he had a tough game. I actually had a chat with him yesterday and, to be fair, he turned up and delivered today, which he has consistently done now for us.”
Twine is developing quite a reputation for delivering in moments where a goal is needed. He gave City the lead by converting free-kicks at home to QPR and Blackburn this season, scored the winner against Luton on Boxing Day and in the 4-3 thriller at home to Millwall in August, and got the Robins back into the game on the stroke of halftime against Wolves in the FA Cup.
While it still feels like the 25-year-old could add a bit more consistency to his game at times, his habit of popping up with important goals is becoming a real asset for Manning’s side, particularly as they look to challenge for the top six.
“You can feel it, I think it is big,” explained the 39-year-old. “Momentum is massive in football, and again, I think the play that leads to the free kick is top. You know, Rob [Dickie], through to Twiney, who slides in Sincs [Armstrong], who gets taken down.
“It’s a moment of excellent football, and then obviously when he steps up there, I think everybody in the ground is feeling a little bit nervous, and a little bit anxious in terms of what he’s capable of.”
Since the pair worked at MK Dons, Twine has scored 13 goals from free-kicks, four of which have come in a City shirt and he is quickly developing a reputation as one of the most consistent deadball strikers in the football league currently.
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Although Manning is insistent that the former Burnley man doesn’t do anything particularly special to improve his technique, he does believe that years of practice have allowed Twine to perfect his craft, and become known as a threat from a certain distance.
“I wouldn’t say he stays out there for hours and hours on end doing it, but I think he’s done it for years where now he’s got a certain range and a certain position where you know he’s dangerous, and outside that area, you know he’s not,” explained the Bristol City head coach.
“He’s one of those where I see him practice it on the training pitch, and like I said, it’s not luck. It’s something that I saw him doing numerous times at MK Dons when we worked together there, and he’s now managing to do that here.
“Not just that though, I thought his all-round game today was excellent, you know, the shift he put in defensively, his emotions were in check today, which I think is an important part of his game, and again, I thought he stepped up and took responsibility.”