Bristol City boss Liam Manning takes Oxford fans’ chants as ‘compliment’

Bristol City boss Liam Manning says he took the vitriolic chanting directed at him by some Oxford fans as a “compliment” after his side won 2-1 at Ashton Gate.

Manning, who left Oxford to take charge of City in November 2023, saw his current team come from behind to take the three points in an entertaining Championship clash.

Ruben Rodrigues fired Oxford in front after a strong run by Siriki Dembele on 28 minutes, but City were back on terms after 57 minutes through Sinclair Armstrong’s first-time finish.

The winner came from a disputed 76th-minute penalty, blasted into the top corner by substitute Nahki Wells after Mark Harris was judged to have tripped Haydon Roberts.

After being on the receiving end of constant abuse from 3,500 travelling supporters, Manning said: “If the Oxford fans hate me for leaving, I take it as a compliment over where the club was when I went there and where they were when I left.

“I don’t want to spend time talking about it. There are some terrific people at Oxford United, but the past is the past and you move on. I love being at Bristol City and I am excited by what we are building.

“I’m pleased for our supporters, who were brilliant today. We didn’t deserve to be behind at half-time and in the second half the lads really got on the front foot and took the game to Oxford.

“I haven’t seen the penalty incident again, but my initial reaction was that it was rightly given. There was a slight delay in the referee making his decision and you never know which way it will go in those situations.”

Yu Hirakawa made an exciting home debut on the right wing as a substitute in the second half and Manning said: “Yu got a terrific ovation from the fans at the end.

“He had the frustration of picking up an injury at the Olympics, but I have seen his qualities in training and know what he can bring to the team.”

Oxford boss Des Buckingham said: “I have seen the penalty again and our player definitely got a touch to the ball to make it change direction. It was a coming together, but not a penalty.

“I thought in the first half we were the better team and in the second half they were. We had a great chance to go 2-0 up before they scored, but failed to take it.

“Mark Harris has had a wonderful start to the season and the work he does for the team is tremendous. He doesn’t find himself far enough back to concede penalties often, but I had brought on another striker in Dane Scarlett and wanted to keep Mark on the field as another goalscorer.

“With the game at 1-1, I thought we might be able to pin them back a bit and create a chance for the winner.

“For their first goal, we allowed them to play out too easily on their right, but as much as you plan and prepare you are not going to get everything right.”