Liam Manning: Oxford United good enough to turn season around, says new head coach

Liam Manning has taken over at Oxford with the club in the midst of a relegation battle

Oxford United's players are good enough to turn their season around, said new head coach Liam Manning.

The 37-year-old was appointed on Saturday and the League One club are three points above the relegation zone, on a run of nine losses in their past 10 games.

Manning watched from the stands as the U's lost to Derby, and they have picked up just one point since 21 January.

Manning replaces Karl Robinson, who was sacked in February.

"I know the quality in the group," Manning told BBC Radio Oxford.

"Part of the thing that really excited me about getting the opportunity to work with the group here is I genuinely believe in the quality of some of the players in the group.

"It's now a case of getting everybody aligned. Sometimes you become quite disjointed when things become difficult."

Manning led MK Dons to a third-placed finish in League One last season, during his first campaign in charge.

However, he was sacked in December with the club 23rd in the table and on a run of only one win in 11 games.

Despite the U's similar turn of fortunes, and with just 10 games left this season, Manning said instant changes could improve their fortunes.

"I've done a huge amount of work studying the group before coming in - there's definitely some tactical tweaks that I think will help the team," he said.

"I think then obviously there's the psychological aspect. We've got a good group of players that have played at the level before and shown they've got the quality of playing the level, so it's also getting them back on track mentally whether it be confidence, whether it be discipline.

"I think sometimes when you're chasing a result you can lose a bit of discipline, it crept in a couple of times on Saturday in the first half."

At MK Dons Manning was known for setting up his team to play out from the back, however, he said that he has different priorities tactically with Oxford.

"What's really important for me is being adaptable, is recognising where the team are at and where the group are at," he continued.

"In terms of build-up from goal-kicks it's not a priority for me at the moment. It's actually how we transition from when we we've got the ball to when we lose it, how do we look in those moments."

'Still points to play for'

Long-term, Manning said he hoped to get involved with bringing more players to the club alongside director of football Grant Ferguson, with there currently being no-one in the role of head of recruitment.

But the priority is getting the team ready for what feels like a must-win game away against fellow strugglers Morecambe on Saturday.

"There's still a large number of points to play for and I think that psychologically that will run out. We need to change it sooner rather than later.

"I think that sometimes you become so focused that the three points on a Saturday is everything, you then get that emotional rollercoaster that makes it difficult from a performance perspective," Manning added.

"We're all clearly aware of the situation we're in but if we can all get together and from the off on Saturday, pull in the same direction and give everything we've got, hopefully we'll get the outcome that we want."