Liam Manning: Bristol City Lacked Intensity in Portsmouth Defeat

Bristol City manager Liam Manning, who joined the club last November after leaving Oxford United, stated his team displayed less “intensity” than Portsmouth during their 3-0 loss. Following their 4-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle, “The Robins” were unable to secure a further positive outcome, as goals from Colby Bishop, Josh Murphy, and Callum Lang of “Pompey” resulted in their sixth defeat of the current season. Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol immediately after the match, Manning commented, “I thought they had more intensity than us which isn’t good.” He continued, “We have to look at why because it hasn’t been like us. The intensity last week at Watford was outstanding. So, for me, the habit has been to work with real intensity, I thought they just adjusted and adapted better to the conditions a lot better and style wise it probably suited them a little more than us but that’s no excuse.” Bristol City’s current mid-table standing highlights their inconsistent performance, having failed to achieve consecutive victories in 19 games throughout this season. While not considered a crisis, Manning recognizes that his squad must avoid a continuation of fluctuating results if they aim to contend for play-off positions. However, the former Oxford United manager dismisses the notion that the relative youth of his squad, which holds an average age of 25 and is the joint seventh youngest in the Championship, contributes to this inconsistency. Manning elaborated, “I’m not looking at age, I think it’s trying to turn around what the club historically has done for a while now. It’s not easy to do that, it’s a tough division, it’s a relentless division and we’ve definitely made progress in so many areas.” He concluded, “We have to make sure that we understand why, we don’t overreact but we have to learn and make sure that we go again Tuesday.” The team’s upcoming schedule includes a Tuesday trip to the northeast to play promotion hopefuls Sunderland, followed by hosting QPR at Ashton Gate next Saturday.