Norwich City players will know exactly what Liam Manning wants vs Blackburn Rovers after 2024 comments

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Blackburn Rovers host Norwich City this weekend, and Liam Manning will be desperate to get revenge for what happened to him the last time he ventured to Ewood Park.

As we head towards gameweek four in the Championship, we’re intrigued by the prospect of Blackburn Rovers taking on Norwich City.

Both teams had contrasting fortunes last time out, with Blackburn putting three past Hull City in their own backyard, while the Canaries fell to a defeat at home to Middlesbrough.

While Blackburn need to end a miserable run against Norwich, having not beaten them at home in 13 years, it’s Liam Manning who may have the strongest desire to put the record straight.

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What Liam Manning said after Blackburn Rovers beat Bristol City

Last season, while in charge of Bristol City, Manning saw his Robins fall to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Blackburn at Ewood Park.

In his post-match interview (via the Bristol City website) He said: “It’s a tough one in terms of how you start the game, which is really important to set the tone early; you need to show bravery, energy, fight, spirit. Those things have to be there every single game. That wasn’t there at the start of this game.

“Mistakes are mistakes, but it’s then a case of how you respond. I don’t think we did. I think they were much better today in terms of organisation and the basics of the game. That’s what hurts the most… it was not good, I didn’t like it.”

Clearly, Manning saw very little to be enthused about from this away performance, and you can guarantee he made that clear to his players in the dressing room.

That was back in September 2024, when John Eustace was still in charge at Blackburn. But, Manning did get some semblance of revenge when his Bristol City team won 2-1 at home to Rovers in January.

Still, we’re sure Manning will not want a repeat of that showing away from home when he takes his new-look Norwich side to Lancashire on Saturday.

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Everything is different for Blackburn Rovers and Liam Manning now

Since that last meeting, Blackburn Rovers have lost John Eustace and replaced him with Valerien Ismael. They’ve also lost key players like Tyrhys Dolan, Callum Brittain, and Lewis Travis is poised to join Derby imminently, too.

Despite a rocky start, Ismael has steadied the ship at Ewood Park and Rovers only narrowly missed out on a play-off spot in 2024/25. One thing’s for sure, if they can play like they did last weekend, Blackburn will be a stern test for Norwich.

The Canaries, meanwhile, have 11 new players to settle into their squad, and Manning has struggled to get them to play as a cohesive and convincing unit thus far.

Defensive issues and a lack of creativity could be Norwich’s undoing this weekend, but never bet against the spirit of a revenge mission.