Norwich City column: Championship fixture against former club Bristol City could have big implications on Liam Manning’s future at Carrow Road

Ahead of Saturday’s visit of his former club Bristol City, all eyes are on Liam Manning.

After a poor start to the season, Norwich City’s head coach already finds himself under significant pressure, just months after joining the club. And it’s not hard to understand why.

Five straight home defeats make for grim reading, while performances across the board have left a lot to be desired to put it nicely. Losing an East Anglian derby certainly doesn’t help.

Maybe there are some mitigating factors. Of course we have had our fair share of injuries once again, but ultimately the responsibility lies with Manning and his support staff.

I don’t want Norwich to become a club synonymous with sacking managers, and equally I want Manning to succeed, but it feels hard to play down the significance of Saturday’s result when it comes to his future.

Because in truth, given the current mood among the supporters, it’s difficult to see a way back from another home defeat, which could in theory see us drop into the bottom three with a quarter of the season gone. Unthinkable really.

As for what Manning needs to do to alter his fortunes, while the list may be long, at the top of it must be finding a way to provide better service to Josh Sargent.

We all know how good Sarge is and his goalscoring capabilities at this level, but in recent weeks he has cut a rather isolated figures, feeding on little more than scraps. Admittedly, with injuries to Mathias Kvistgaarden and Papa Amadou Diallo, attacking options are limited right now.

But it does feel like our midfield mix could do with an added sprinkling of creativity and to achieve that, perhaps it is time to bring Jacob Wright back in from the cold.

It has undoubtedly been a difficult start to the campaign for the 20-year-old, but his recent exile feels rather strange, especially given the technical talent he possesses.