Liam Manning’s first words after Bristol City unveil Oxford United boss as new head coach

Liam Manning believes he and Bristol City are a good fit after he was named as the club's new head coach.

The Robins' search for a replacement for Nigel Pearson is over, with the board identifying the Oxford United boss as the man to lead the club forward.

He has been appointed on a three-and-a-half-year deal, and will be joined by Chris Hogg, who has been appointed as assistant head coach. Curtis Fleming, who oversaw the 1-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday, has departed the club after more than two years of service.

"This is a terrific opportunity and one that I’m really looking forward to," said Manning in an interview with the official club website.

"If you look at the vision of the club and where they want to get to and how they want to get there I think there is really good fit and alignment with my journey and where I want to get to.

“We are custodians and you have to respect and understand the past and the culture of the area that you’ve moved and leave the club in a better state than we found it.

“We’ll be doing our upmost in terms of the day to day in putting really strong processes in place, getting emotionally invested in what we do and having that passion, that drive, that hunger to improve everything.”

Manning got straight down to business, and met with the first-team squad at the High Performance Centre today. He will now prepare the squad for his first game in charge which comes at Loftus Road against QPR at the weekend.

He added: “You want players that you can coach and are mouldable and on an upward trajectory in their career. I think that brings certain behaviours in terms of drive, intensity and ambition which align with how we want to work.”