Liam Manning spoke to CanariesTV following his appointment as head coach of Norwich City.
Liam, welcome to Norwich City. First of all, your reflections on the last few days and weeks and how you've ended up as our new head coach?
"It's been a little bit of a whirlwind, as is the nature of football. I'm delighted to be here, I think it was one of those where I had numerous discussions with Ben (Knapper), the owners and with people behind the scenes. It felt like a terrific fit for the next steps in my career, so delighted to be here."
A lot has been made that you're one of us, Norfolk-born, but it's the project that's attracted you. Tell us a little bit about what brought you to Norwich City?
"A lot has been made of being from the area, which is important to me. My family still live here, my wife's family still live here, there's a lot of friends and family that are in the area. My history and understanding of the club, the city itself and some of the journeys that the team has been on over the years, it's an important thing. But, the number one driver was always the professional side; do I feel like I can have an impact with the group and does the project align with my ambitions. It ticks so many boxes that ultimately, as I make my next steps, it felt like a perfect fit."
You've experienced Carrow Road as a supporter and later as a head coach and manager. What are your impressions of the place?
"It starts with the fans. Fundamentally, the most important people at the club. Coaches and players come and go, but the one thing that remains consistent is the fans. I know it can be packed out most weeks and I want to make this place a really difficult one for teams to come and create a real positive energy and atmosphere. From that perspective, I'm looking forward to that first game at home next season. I think it's one of those with the team, creating something special with a group of players that they can be proud of."
Talk to us about your approach to football and how you see the game and how that compared to Ben?
"It's definitely evolved over time, I think I've improved and got better as a coach. If you look at the game, it does change and move forward but some of the core principles don't. That, for me, is the important bit. The bare minimum is that the players turn up and and give absolutely everything, whether that's running, competing, fighting. Behaviours, that on a good day or a bad day, that don't change. That's the bare minimum. On top of that, I think we've got some top attacking players. I'm excited and looking forward to working with those. There's a lot of things that can be built on and how do we become a team that control the game in the attacking half and excite people, whether that be from duels, combinations, shots, whatever it might be. We want to produce some real attacking football and has to be underpinned by being difficult to beat as well."
What qualities do you look for in your players and that balance between talent and hard work?
"Hard work is a given, no matter how talented you are. That's on staff too, we have to role model that and we have to live that. That's a non-negotiable for me. When it comes to talent, players can work hard and there's no reason not to. Bare minimum if you want to be successful is you have to give absolutely everything. Lads are human, that's really important too. I want to get to know the players, their make up and their support circles and what they're psychologically like too. They're human at the end of the day, they all feel pressure and all have nerves. When you step on the pitch, how do you bring you? We bring people to the football club because of their strengths and my job is to get them to the best place possible on a match day and to bring that to the team."
What is your approach to getting the best out of players?
"I think you have to do everything, I think that's the key to it. You have to create the right culture, we have to create a culture where people are in love with the game and inspired to be part of it. They need to understand how privileged they are to be doing something that's so fantastic. You can strip that back to why people start playing, professionals get older and there's so many factors that come into it. You can sometimes deviate away from why you started playing, which is that pure enjoyment. The excitement of stepping out on that pitch and just enjoying it. You have to harness that and keep that. For me, I have to role model what we want to see in people. I'm quite consistent, I'm quite calm and level in most things. Of course, I have gears I can go to if needs be. I'm emotional, like everybody, I care and want to win. A lot of work from me and the staff is underpinned by helping players and helping them improve. I believe that if you can improve players as people, the team will be better for it."
Where do you like to spend your time as head coach? Are you a meeting room coach or do you like to be out there on the grass?
"I'm definitely active on the grass. In terms of coaching, whether that's leading sessions as I'm a hands-on coach. I think there's a real skill in observing too and enjoy empowering staff to lead aspects of it too. You have to give players and staff too and work hard to harness that culture. Whether that's the kitchen staff, cleaners, analysts, the media, everyone plays their part. We all win together, we all lose together. It's all about giving people time and listening to people, we all play our own role in being successful."
How much do you use data in your decision making?
"The game has evolved hugely with technology and data. It's good to have a good knowledge of it and the context of it, as it doesn't tell you everything. What you get with experience, with time and what you get with being in lots of different situations and environments. That allows you to use your eyes and your gut. You can plan and collect all the information, but you have to be a little bit reactive with what you see and what's presented to you. You have to make decisions that are best for the team, as it's not about me or about an individual players."
How do you think the squad needs to evolve to deliver the brand of football you're talking about?
"You need time with the players, I think, to understand what they've been told to do previously. I can watch all the games, or do all the analysis possible, but ultimately the lads will be getting different messages in a different way. There's a huge amount of positives in the group already from the work I saw last season. When you look at the attacking numbers, it's how do you add different dimensions and elements to the team. We associate being hard to beat with defending, but you can be hard to beat with the ball. If we're going to keep the ball, we'll keep it in their half and that's the same with the out of possession stuff. There's such an emphasis on playing styles and identities, but we have to be prepared for everything. Ultimately, we have to understand what that will look like more often than not, but if you want to win games and be successful, you have be prepared for everything."
Where do you sit on the discussion of bringing through youth players and the importance of giving them game time versus the result on the pitch?
"Number one is about winning games. But I also understand that the time and the patience, sometimes players and the team need to learn, grow and evolve. Everything we do will be about trying to win a match. When you step back and become less emotional and more analytical, it's about understanding how that fits into the journey we're going on as a group. There's some really exciting and talented players in the group with huge potential. When you look at some of the lads who came in last year, some of them are extremely young but they're 40 or 50 games on further in their careers and they'll only be better for it. It's understanding that we are building and we are progressing, but I want to win as well."
What motivates you as a coach and how do you sustain your energy through the season?
"It's probably why the way that I look after a few years of doing it! You become hardened and resilient to it. I've been coaching for a long time now and the foundations have to be hard work. The Championship and the Football League is so unique in world football, in terms of volume of games. You have to be creative at times in how you coach, it can't always be on the grass because you're chasing freshness and need to keep them off their feet. It might be a video session, it might be a a walkthrough, you have to be smart with how you coach the group. In terms of working with the lads and getting in front of them, it's a variety of ways to be successful."
What are your initial priorities now you're here?
"Getting familiar with people and understanding them. Getting to know names is always one, especially when there's a high volume of people at the football club. I want to understand people and their roles, what they do and to get a feel for the place. It's not about coming in and changing everything from the off, I think observing, listening and understanding is hugely important. I can reach out to some of the players now I've officially started, I think it's important to start those relationships and start connecting with people. We've also got the aspect of recruitment and building the team that can compete next season."
How do you like to go about pre-season?
"Training time during the season can be limited, so it's good to maximise that. So to lay down some of the core principles of how we play and how we work and what we do is really important and a good opportunity. You can get some high physical returns, but you can also get some football returns in some sessions. There's a place for some of the tough, digging in running aspects for physical reasons, but also for psychological reasons. Knowing you can go to those places that hurt, you can call on that later in the season as you've put down solid foundations during pre-season."
Finally, what is your message to Norwich City supporters?
"Delighted to be here, hugely proud and it's a privilege to sit here in this position. I can't wait to get about the city and meet a few. I think it's understanding that I am so privileged, rest assured I will do absolutely everything in my power to improve the team and to give the fans a team that they can be proud of and try to bring success to the club. If they can play their part as well and we can align and understand that we'll have highs and we'll have lows, we can stick together. If everyone can turn up and be the best version of themselves, you can create some special memories. That's what the game is all about."
Watch the interview in full on CanariesTV below.