How Liam Manning feels about Norwich City future amid Carrow Road sack calls | OneFootball

The Norwich-born boss remains under pressure as his side's underwhelming start to the season continued on Saturday

Norwich City head coach Liam Manning reportedly has no fears over the possibility of losing his job in East Anglia as the pressure on his shoulders intensified over the weekend.

Rather ironically, it was the 40-year-old's former side, Bristol City, who helped pile on said pressure with a 1-0 success at Carrow Road through Mark Sykes' strike 17 minutes from time, with Norwich continuing to languish just above the relegation zone ahead of Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.

It is a far cry from what was expected when Manning took over his hometown club back in mid-June, with Norwich hoping to bridge the gap between themselves and the Championship play-offs once more after a dismal season which saw Johannes Hoff Thorup sacked less than a year after initially replacing David Wagner in the summer of 2024.

However, despite a major squad transition under the previously highly-rated head coach, which saw the likes of Borja Sainz depart for FC Porto, many believe that the squad at Manning's disposal represents the fifth-worst squad in the league, which is currently where they find themselves after 10 league games under his stewardship.

Manning's future was already put up for discussion by some sections of the fanbase in Norfolk even prior to the 3-1 defeat against bitter rivals, Ipswich Town, before the recent two-week fixture gap due to the international break.

Yet, despite the fact sack calls have since intensified, Manning remains defiant that he can turn the tide at Carrow Road.

How Liam Manning feels about Norwich City job as sack calls intensify

It was reported by Football Insider on Sunday morning that Manning's future in Norfolk had taken a twist following the narrow defeat to his former club, with it being claimed that the Norwich-born man was aware that the club's current slide must be halted as soon as possible to ease the pressure coming his way.

However, the aforementioned report stated that questions over his long-term future with the Canaries remain, despite the fact he was handed a contract until the summer of 2029 following his move from Ashton Gate after guiding the West Country side to a play-off finish in the Championship for the first time in 17 years last season.

The same publication has since revealed that, amid such pressures, Manning has full confidence in himself to turn Norwich's fortunes around in the near future, having gone on a run of six games without a win, with both of their Championship victories also coming on the road against Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers.

The latest update on Manning's future also states that, due to his standing in the game as a highly-rated homegrown boss - having enjoyed relative success at MK Dons and Oxford United before making the step-up into the Championship with Bristol City - could afford him said time to get a tune out of his new chargers in the upcoming block of fixtures.

Speaking to the media post-match, Manning stated that: "I think it's (the club's culture) too nice. The whole place, everything's just too nice," when asked to sum up his feelings amid fan pressure.

Such feelings can be somewhat backed up by the fact the Canaries have the worst home record in the second tier, having lost all five encounters by an aggregate score of 9-4.

Amid the aforementioned reports, it has since been claimed by Graeme Bailey that Mark Attanasio and the Norwich hierarchy are eyeing up another critical decision, with ex-players such as Mark Robins and Gary O'Neil said to be at the top of their replacement shortlist alongside Danny Rohl, who has also re-emerged as a potential candidate for the Rangers vacancy after failed discussions with previous favourite, Kevin Muscat.

Bailey claims that Robins, who currently has Stoke City residing in third place, has a release clause that would need to be met in order to prize him away from the Bet365 Stadium just nine months after taking charge.

It is certainly an intriguing set of developments to keep across, although some supporters may be questioning why a change looks likely to be made shortly after a two-week gap in the fixture schedule.