No matter what happens to Matty James over the next three months and whether he continues in a Bristol City shirt beyond this summer or not, he will hold a small debt of gratitude to Liam Manning.
James is one of four first-team players out of contract this summer and as he admits on the eve of Friday’s game against Leicester City there has been no contact or indication that the Robins plan to extend the three years he’s spent in the West Country.
Given his vast experience, the 32-year-old is remaining open-minded and understanding of the situation and is just looking forward to playing again, and enjoying his time on the field, after a frustrating four weeks spent on the sidelines with an achilles problem.
Manning has pulled back the curtain on his coaching operation for James to gain a fascinating insight into a world he wants to occupy when he eventually hangs his boots up.
The former Leicester midfielder is undertaking his UEFA A-license and Manning has allowed him to be privy to the process that goes into creating the sort of in-depth pre and post-match analysis compilations that James confesses he would have once been blase about.
Now, though, he wants to be a sponge in terms of the knowledge he’s looking to absorb outside of what happens on the pitch, although it’s also of immediate benefit to his game as that greater understanding can only improve him.
“He’s got me involved in certain bits behind the scenes and showed me certain bits that have opened my eyes in terms of the coaching role, in terms of the detail and what goes into getting it to a meeting and how many hours you put into that,” James said.
“Some of the tech side and the animations and the in-depth look into opposition, what they’re looking for and how we’re then going to try and stop certain things, it has been something I have enjoyed and it is different, seeing that side of it.
“Because you just turn up, see the meeting, look at the opposition, go out and play. But there’s a hell of a lot of work going into it and the numerous hours that have been spent looking at the opposition which is why, for us, it gets frustrating because we’re doing the right things, the execution just isn’t quite there.”
Ahead of the game against Leicester, Manning reveals that to help keep Sam Bell sharp and feeling part of the squad, he set the injured forward some homework to analyse the Foxes and present his findings to the coaching staff.
It’s an exercise that carries a number of benefits: challenging the individual, giving them a sense of place and also expanding their knowledge and game understanding.
“At certain times he asks for opinions from lads in the dressing room and you’ve got to be switched on and ready to speak because you need to be paying attention and knowing what he’s looking for, and it’s been really good for me and I’ve enjoyed every minute of that,” James added.
“We want to get more results on the pitch because of how much work has gone into it.
“I’ve got so much respect for it because I’ve been that player in the past where you kind of whinge and say, ‘that was rubbish and this and that’ but now you go, ‘wow’ and it does make you a better player.
"Certainly I want to play for many more years but having that knowledge in the back of your mind and then to try and help other lads by saying it’s not as easy as you think, picking the team and selections and training and each individual day, and making sure it works towards that Saturday is intense.
"For me, as a player who wants to transition into it, the more I can learn about it, the easier it then makes the transition. And I’ve been really appreciative to the gaffer for allowing me an insight into that. Brendan (Rodgers) did it a bit when I was at Leicester and it does give you more of a rounded circle in terms of your playing career and your understanding of the game.”
It’s been a deeply frustrating time for James on the sidelines as he’s not the best watcher and while he’s tried to maintain an element of influence in the dressing room guidance he tries to provide some of the younger members of the squad, there’s only so much he can do.
Although City are on this miserable run of five defeats in six games, he concedes, like his head coach, that the margins between success and failure have been so small and it’s not wholly been representative of what the Robins have been trying to do on the pitch.
It does sound like he’s singing from the same hymn sheet as his head coach when he praises out-of-possession structure and other more micro elements of the game they have performed well in, but does point to a significant dressing room figure who remains very much on-message despite the downturn in results.
“There are certain elements of the game that people might not see week-in, week-out, but we know if we keep sticking to that something will click, and will get a little bit better than what it has been recently,” James said. “And we just need that to happen but we’re the only people who can make that happen. We can’t just keep saying it on the training pitch or before the game, we’ve got to go out on the pitch and make it happen, and it stands tomorrow with a very tough game but one you can only go out there and relish.
“Everything is judged on by results, and the gaffer will say that, but there have been certain aspects - we’ve built from the keeper much better, we’ve had more control of the ball in certain games, and we have been into the final third we just haven’t executed in certain games.
"Moving through the thirds has been very, very good at times and our off-the-ball structure against certain teams has been good. In recent games, the first half to the second half, certainly against Swansea was a lot better in the second because we were more aggressive. So the more aggressive we are, when we can be, it does lead to more turnovers in the final third where we can then be on the front foot and transitional.
“There are numerous positives, it’s just because the results have not gone the way we want them to, it leads to a little bit more negativity, which is completely normal.”
A positive result against Leicester will help change some of that negativity as a sold-out Ashton Gate will welcome the Championship’s second-best team who have spent the vast majority of the campaign at the summit.
City were beaten 1-0 at the King Power Stadium in September through Jamie Vardy’s penalty, with the scoreline implying a close-run contest which it was to some extent, but essentially the visitors never looked like securing anything beyond a stalemate and James accepts they didn’t use the ball well enough on the day, something they can’t afford to do again.
“You’ve got to try and keep a clean sheet the best you can; the way they attack, the way they keep the ball, is very very good and we’ve seen that over numerous games this season and there’s a reason why they are up the top end of the league,” James said.
“We’re going to have to be strong, we’re going to hopefully give them as little pressure on our goal as best we can and if we can turn the ball over and be better on transitions than we were at their place - I thought we gave the ball away far too easily - then we can get up the pitch and cause an upset.
“There were little passages, and you’d think you’d get it and then all of a sudden they’d break the next line and you’re running back to your own goal. They’ve got wingers that come inside, go on the outside, players that rotate into midfield - they’ve just got so many different aspects. The keeper spends quite a lot of time on the ball, he becomes another centre-back, which you don’t often see in the Championship.
“For us, we showed a lot of respect on the day and we were still in the game but not to the extent where we wanted it to be. When we did win the ball back, we were probably a little bit tired from the defending we’d done. Hopefully, tomorrow with some of the stuff we’ve worked on we hold a threat and give them a good game.”
He verbally shakes off the significance of the game on a personal level because James has a job to do as a City player and any sentimentality about his time at Leicester will be put to one side. There will be time for some friendly reunions before the match, however, in particular with Foxes striker Jamie Vardy who signed for the club from Fleetwood Town three days after James had joined from Manchester United.
Friends and former colleagues, but Vardy also serves as a source of inspiration for the 32-year-old as while he may have one eye on coaching and what his post-playing career may look like, he wants to try and emulate his mate’s longevity.
“Vards is such a good lad and he’s an unbelievable player in terms of where he’s gone from the day he signed at Leicester," James said. "For us, this non-league mentality and he fitted in straight away; the way he was as a person, as a player, and he’s such a giving guy, he would do anything for anybody. And the relationship a lot of lads had with him was probably why he’s still at the football club, because of the loyalty he’s shown.
“When you do get a little bit older you do kind of get put into that box in terms of the more senior, experienced player. For everybody to see what Vards is doing, still playing and still sharp he is.
"He’s still got the speed at 37, for me it’s great because hopefully there’s still a little bit of room for the players who are entering the last few years of their career that people still know your value. It’s great he’s still playing and I’m sure he’ll be playing for a little bit longer.”
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