Oxford United boss to take charge at Bristol City
He joins the club on an three and a half year deal
U's manager 38 year old Liam Manning is to take charge at Bristol City.
The club has officially named Manning as their new head coach, a little over a week after the sacking of Nigel Pearson.
He joins on a three and a half year deal, having been poached from Oxford United.
Chris Hogg also joins from Oxford as his assistant.
In a statement on the Oxford United website, Chairman Grant Ferguson said,
“We reluctantly gave Bristol City permission to speak with Liam after he indicated he wanted to discuss their vacant managerial position with them.
“The club did everything it could to keep him here, but we move on and the project continues. Our focus now is to quickly appoint Liam's successor."
Bristol City Chairman Jon Lansdown said: “Liam is a great fit for the club and the style of play we want.
He has a very detailed approach to coaching, improving players and getting the best out of them as his record at MK Dons and Oxford United shows, while he has valuable experience within the (Manchester) City Group and in Belgium.
“As soon as we made the change Liam was our first choice and we are grateful to Oxford United for the extremely professional way they have approached the departure of someone who was doing a fantastic job for them.
“We are excited about the arrival of Liam and Chris and fulfilling the ambition we all have for the club with this talented and committed group of players.”
Manning said: “This is a terrific opportunity and one that I’m really looking forward to.
"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.”
"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.”
Nicknamed the U's, Oxford currently sit second in their league, three points behind leaders Portsmouth.
Pearson was sacked as City boss just a little over a week ago on Sunday 29 October, with the Robins then 15th in the Championship after seven games.
The decision was met with shock and anger amongst fans, who felt Pearson had been building a positive culture at the club.
Many also pointed out the side, whilst in the bottom half, were only five points off the play offs with the majority of the season still to be played.
With Manning's arrival, Curtis Fleming, who was Nigel Pearson's assistant, has also now left the club having taken his final training session this morning.
Having convinced the club's ownership that he is the man to take Bristol City forward, Manning will now begin convincing the fan base that he can take the Robins to the Premier League.
Who is Liam Manning?
At just 38 years old, Manning is very much at the young end of the spectrum of football club bosses.
He began coaching at 21 with Ipswich and has also spent time with West Ham's under-23s, where he oversaw the rise of now England and Arsenal regular, Declan Rice.
Manning's CV also includes a spell with Lommel in Belgium, New York City FC in the US and MK Dons, who he took to the League One play offs in the 2021-22 season.
Manning joined Oxford United in March 2023 with the side 18th in League One at the time, only three points above the relegation zone, but this season the club is flying near the top of the table.
He is a known proponent of possession-based, high pressing attacking football and it is thought the Bristol City hierarchy are keen to see Manning implement this across the club, including in the academy.
Oxford United say First Team Coach Craig Short will take on the role of interim Head Coach at the Kassam Stadium, supported by Academy Coach Chris Hackett.