ONE OF HARRY Redknapp’s last acts as manager of Queens Park Rangers was to sign Ryan Manning from Galway United in January 2015.
Barely a month after the teenager had arrived in London, the veteran boss departed Loftus Road, possibly giving his farewell interview to Sky Sports News from his car window as he drove out of the training ground.
It was a very different time, and Redknapp now seems like a manager belonging to a bygone era.
Manning’s emergence, and evolution, helps to illustrate this.
QPR were preparing for their austerity years after splurging wastefully in the Premier League.
His signing from the League of Ireland was with a view to the future, an exciting underage Ireland international talent with an eye for goal and a pass in the final third.
That creativity hasn’t left him, he just appreciates the need to channel it in a way that allows him carry out various orders.
He now finds himself as Swansea City’s left-sided centre back in a three-man defence, and that is the position he ended Ireland’s 1-0 win over Lithuania on Tuesday night, having played the first 70 minutes at wing back.
“Football has probably changed a little bit in that left back or left wing back is a lot more of an attacking position then it was years ago. For me it was about adapting to get into teams and be able to carve out a career,” Manning explained.
“The way football is now you have to be adaptable to a lot of positions. I was able to play left wing back and then Jimmy (James McClean) came on and I was able to drop back in [to centre back]. It probably helps that the style at my club is similar to here [with Ireland].
It’s all about dominating the football and playing out from the back. For me it’s about being as adaptable as I can to play as many positions as I can to essentially give me more opportunities to play.
“If I’m restricted to one position and a manager wants to make a change in that position then I have to come off. I was able to drop into centre half [against Lithuania] and that allows me to stay on the pitch or get on the pitch more often.
“It was just about adapting and finding ways to get into the manager’s thoughts and getting into the starting XI some way.”
Manning did himself no harm with his performance on Tuesday, and on another night would have chalked up a fine assist early on when he ventured forward and delivered a crisp cross for Chiedozie Ogbene to tap home at the near post.
The Ireland forward had just made his run a fraction too early and was correctly flagged offside, one of four goals chalked off by the linesman’s raised flag.
Manning, who turns 26 in June, will always be in the mix for a place in Kenny’s squad because of that adaptability and may well emerge as an even more important figure in a team than has now made scoring late goals one of its hallmarks.
“It’s probably down to the style of football, we have started to control games and started to take care of the football a lot more,” he reasons about their ability to find the net late.
“Teams that come to play against us have to work that bit harder out of possession. I think with that style comes that last 10 minutes where teams have to really dig in to try to keep us out and it is no coincidence that we are starting to score late goals because that is what happens when you work teams so hard for the first 80 or 90 minutes.
When you dominate the ball you are banking on that last 10 minutes when they begin to fade because they are working so hard all game and we did have two or three clear cut chances in the last five minutes, so I think that is part of that style of football.
“Dominate the ball for so long and they are working so hard that you are just waiting for that last 10 minutes where they are going to start making mistakes and start losing men and stop covering the ground and then the chances come.”
Manning has shown a willingness to take whichever ones come his way, and he might find another door opening with Ireland following the arrival of former QPR coach John Eustace onto Kenny’s coaching ticket.
“I’ve really enjoyed working under him because he’s fantastic . He is always involved in the set-pieces. The sessions he puts on are relative to the games coming up.
“He did a session before the Belgium game about the way we were going to set up. He adapted it for the Lithuania game. He’s settled in really well. Everyone has really enjoyed working with him and I’m glad to be working with him again. I was happy when I saw him coming through the door last week.
