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🟡🟢 We've arrived at Colney ahead of Liam Manning's latest press conference.
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Asked if he's recovered from the derby, he says: "You have to. You have to focus on what's next and get ready for that."

"We've had a lot of challenges so far," says Manning. "But my whole life is built on that. For me it's how you change it, and that's not sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. It's doing everything in our power to change it."

On home form: "We have to be better, simple as that. I'm not shying away from it; we have to do everything to get a result on Saturday."

LM says that Bristol City were 11th at this point last season and ended up qualifying for the play-offs. "We were probably getting booed then as well. There's so much work to do, but that's the bit that excites me."

Onto fitness. Jose Cordoba is out until at least the next international break but doesn't need surgery. "He'd done really well in that last two games so I'm gutted," Manning adds. "We've had too many injuries - it's a new thing for me."

Manning says that "we have to improve" the fitness record, but that he believes he can still press high without Cordoba and has the option to do that. "We're in a position where we can tweak and change. We're not going to move away from what we're trying to do massively."

The weekend is too soon for Shane Duffy but he'll be back soon. Players expected back over the next few weeks. "Ben Chrisene's a lot closer, Mathias Kvistgaarden has been out on the grass and Forson's getting closer." Manning praises Duffy's character but isn't sure whether he'll be available for Derby.

Chrisene and Kvistgaarden could be back in around a week, and McLean has been buoyed by international minutes. "Around the place he's really important," says LM.

On losing the derby: "Of course we addressed it and we're aware of the knock-on effect it had for the fans. The lads were disappointed and I could sense that in training."

LM: "In today's age it's impossible to keep the lads away from social media. It is what it is, you've got to deal with it. For me it's getting your head down and working. I don't need the adulation - can I look at myself and know I've given absolutely everything."

On Chris Sutton's column calling for City to stick with him: "There's no point talking about previous coaches. All I can talk about is what I found in the summer. You look at the end of last season and it was tough. People don't like suffering, but if and when you do come out of the other side of it, you're better for it. We turned it around at Bristol City and had a real strong end to the season."

"We dissect everything," says Manning, asked if anything's changed behind the scenes. "We all have the same goal, everybody. Fans, us. The amount of effort that goes into moving this club forward is huge. We're doing everything we can to turn it on Saturday."

What needs to change? "Take your chances. We have to be more clinical. It's the little unforced errors that have hurt us too many times this season. I thought we did a good managing the game against Ipswich. You need people to go and execute the real simple things to the highest level and consistently."

On Josh Sargent drought: "It's something we've actually spoken a lot about. Credit to him for his application. He's had a little bit of a rest which I think is important. You want your attackers the ball, so how do we get them it? Sometimes it's harder to find him when teams sit in, but he's the best striker in the league. We've got to find ways to get him more involved."

On Bristol City: "There are some fantastic people there and terrific people in the fan base. We achieved something that the club hasn't for a long time, and I'll be eternally grateful for what the city did for me at a very difficult time personally."

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That's all from today's press conference.

Posted By: DrDublin on October 15th 2025 at 14:22:30

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