'Something has to change' - Norwich boss Liam Manning addresses his future ahead of Sheffield Wednesday clash
Pressure is mounting on Norwich City head coach Liam Manning ahead of his side’s midweek trip to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday.
Norwich City head coach Liam Manning has vowed to continue fighting for his job as pressure continues to mount on him ahead of his side’s midweek trip to Sheffield Wednesday.
The Canaries suffered a sixth successive Championship defeat on Saturday, losing 2-0 to Hull City at Carrow Road, meaning they will travel to Hillsborough on Wednesday evening just one place above the Owls in the table.
Norwich, who extracted Manning from Championship rivals Bristol City in June to replace Johannes Hoff Thorup at Carrow Road, have lost nine of their first 13 Championship matches this term, winning just two. Manning also lost each of his first seven home games in charge in league and cup.
Following the defeat to Hull, some Norwich supporters staged a protest outside the directors’ entrance, calling for Manning and sporting director Ben Knapper to leave the club.
Despite mounting frustrations from the fans, Manning, who has not seen his side win since the end of August, is still determined to try and turn his side’s fortunes around.
As quoted by the Pink Un, Manning said: “It's not acceptable to lose the volume of games we have. I'll keep fighting, but we'll have discussions because something has to change.
“We have to be honest with ourselves, we have to look inwardly. You only have to look at the points return to know that it has to change.
"Mark [Attanasio] (principal owner) made it quite clear in terms of everybody's accountable. And at the minute, nobody can look at themselves and say they're delivering. So ultimately, everybody's responsible for where we're at.”
Manning already looking ahead to January
Although the Championship campaign is only 13 games old, meaning there is plenty of time for the Canaries to turn their fortunes around, Manning has already hinted the January transfer window could be crucial in their efforts to avoid an unexpected relegation to League One.
He added: “Do we have enough to survive? Yes, I think so. January becomes quite important in terms of what you add.
“I think we need to get bodies back. That's a challenge in terms of possibly four or five starting players are injured, which is again, part of a wider issue.
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"You’ve got some of those coming back in the next three, four weeks, which will be a big, big lift. Having (Amankwah) Forson and Mathias (Kvistgaarden) back will be a big lift.
“When you're on the ropes, when you're up against it, you have to swing, you have to fight, and that is irrespective of the scoreline. We don’t leave it all out there. That's a disappointing bit, because we're talking about a behavioural thing.”