Could’ve been king: now man so close to Portsmouth arrival stands in way of Championship revival with Bristol City

In the race to become new Pompey boss, it was Liam Manning who set the pace and was heavily fancied to become Danny Cowley’s successor nearly two years ago.

Interviewed for the post following Cowley’s exit after 22 months, the progressive 39-year-old ticked many of the boxes for the head coach role and direction headed under sporting director Rich Hughes.

With the likes of former coach Ian Foster also in the running, it was John Mousinho, of course, who came up on the blind side to take on the challenge of guiding Pompey into the Championship.

Now, 23 months on, it’s Manning who stands in the way of the Blues’ Championship revival, as he arrives at PO4 this weekend as boss of Bristol City.

He does with his star once again on the rise at Ashton Gate, after emerging as one of the game’s bright, young things.

That perhaps wasn’t quite how Manning was being viewed among the masses, when being considered for the role of Pompey head coach.

The man who cut his teeth in coaching at Ipswich Town and then West Ham had been out of the game for a few weeks, after being removed from his position at MK Dons in December 2022.

That was after a meteoric rise at Stadium MK when replacing Russell Martin, finishing third in League One on 89 points - with a run of 15 wins from 22. It was the play-offs and not automatic promotion for his side, however, with pain following at the semi-final stage as Wycombe came out on top over two legs.

That success was quickly forgotten, however, with Manning dismissed after a slow start to the 2022-23 season.

It was one of the bemusing misconceptions that the former coach with Belgian side Lommel had ties with chief executive Andy Cullen, leading to him being considered for the Pompey job.

Cullen had actually been at Fratton Park for three months, by the time Manning had been appointed at MK Dons in August 2021.

It was to be League One rivals Oxford who were to provide the Norwich-born man with his next home, a couple of months after Mousinho had headed down the A34 for PO4.

Manning succeeded Karl Robinson at the Kassam and was quick to make waves with the U’s, with his side soaring to second in the table.

Oxford were three points behind Pompey by the time Bristol City came calling in November last year, with it noted around these parts the right call had been made to appoint a manager not looking to use his club as a springboard to progress his career.

Replacing Nigel Pearson as boss he guided the Robins from 15th to 11th in the table last term, with his side in the same place in the Championship ahead of their Fratton visit after their 4-0 weekend mauling of Plymouth.