Derby v Norwich City: Liam Manning Championship preview

Manning and his squad were booed off on Saturday for the third consecutive home game as the Canaries' embarrassing six-match winless run in Norfolk continued.

Derby have also failed to win in front of their own this season under a new incoming head coach in John Eustace, and a similarly busy summer transfer overhaul.

Manning is looking to tap into any mood of discontent in the home ranks on Tuesday night.

“Our away support will be incredible again and we have to turn up. We have to turn up and relish it,” he said. “I keep saying about driving responsibility and owning it and taking that opportunity. The margins are so fine in this league. Yes, there are a lot of similarities. A huge, huge volume of players in and out as well.

"We’ll do our work on what to expect, but we have to control us. That is what I said at the weekend. If we're our best version then everybody needs to step up and thrive under that pressure.

“It's a tough game. They have some really, really good players. They've laid out a decent amount of money in the summer and they're well set up. It's a hard game. They're extremely physical. They'll be desperate to win at home, like we have been, so we know how challenging that will be.

"John is a very good coach wherever he has been. But it is where our heads are, and how much are we willing to commit and go above and beyond? That is the key for me.”

Bristol City's fans mercilessly taunted their old boss' lacklustre brand of football at Carrow Road in a 1-0 weekend defeat.

"Do I want us to play square and sideways? No, I want us to have purpose," he said. "The plan was to try and exploit space behind Bristol, which you actually look at it we did three or four times in that first half. I thought we caused some problems with Matej (Jurasek) down the side early on.

"But when you then don't score the pressure mounts and the atmosphere mounts. That's where you need people to step up and be brave and go and own it, and go and take risk and keep asking the question.

“That's probably the disappointing element for me when we're behind, we just became too passive, too nice with the ball, we didn't ask enough questions, didn't have enough people crashing into the box and asking questions. Whether that's from me not making messages clear enough, or whether it's from the players being brave enough to do it.”

Manning did not hold back in his immediate post-match media on Saturday night, and there was more words behind closed doors on Sunday in a Colney player touchpoint that included sporting director Ben Knapper and technical director Neil Adams.

“It was a long meeting, and I can use words like we are too ‘nice’, as I did after the game, but I have to show them what it looks like with game clips,” he said. “If you talk about being tough everyone jumps on that as winning duels and work without the ball.

"The toughest thing for me is being switched on for 95 minutes. I said after the game about owning my own performance, and where I put my energy to help the lads achieve that.

“We have to move on quickly from shooting ourselves in the foot too often. That was the key message in that meeting. I want to be able to coach us so we get into more dangerous areas, and we have really good control, but then turn that into more shots, more opportunities for our attacking players.

"There are too many basics lacking for a club at the level we are, and the expectation that we should have, in terms of we're spending too much time talking about the basics of the game. The only way we get past that is to be clear, transparent, honest.”

Manning indicated at Colney on Monday he had no fresh fitness issues for those who were on duty against the Robins, in a matchday squad that included fit-again Tony Springett for the first time in a year after back surgery.

“He had some exposure in the Under-21s, which was really good for him,” said the City boss. “He is a top character, I think in terms of what he brings, his personality and his energy. Sometimes when you look at someone like him missing the period of time he did, and how severe and serious the injury was, it reignites that hunger. You don’t take it for granted.”

Lucien Mahovo is expected to be sidelined for the next two away trips with a muscular setback in his on-going recovery from major quad surgery.

But Elliot Myles is on course to join the likes of Shane Duffy (calf), Mathias Kvistgaarden (knee) and Ben Chrisene (hamstring) in the mix over the next couple of weeks. The exciting young wide player has not featured for Manning after a summer hamstring injury.

"Really, really close to returning. He's out on the grass now, doing some condition work as well. Probably best part of two weeks away, I'd say, maximum from joining full team training," said Manning. "So we'll gradually re-integrate him into certain practices, certain things that are safe for him to do. And then there's not a million miles away from being involved.

"That's what we need, really, after this weekend people stepping up and holding others to account when they don’t perform. We have three or four bodies now to return in these next 10 days who are available, and the others know they have to deliver. Having that competition, having players, especially in attacking areas like Mathias, is so important."

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