Ryan Manning talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
After quickly settling in to life at AESSEAL New York Stadium following his loan switch from fellow second tier outfit Queens Park Rangers, midfielder Ryan Manning believes he has seen enough to believe he and his new teammates can achieve and possibly exceed expectations of Championship survival.
The Irishman has hit the ground running in South Yorkshire being a virtual ever-present since the ink dried on his temporary switch from Loftus Road and after Paul Warne’s side claimed the scalp of highly-fancied Derby County last weekend, Manning has high hopes for the Millers in 2018/19.
“If our aim is just to stay in the division, then I think our squad is even more capable than that. It's all looking positive for a good season,” he told www.themillers.co.uk.
“Every week we go out onto the pitch we're not clinging on to a bit of luck from a set piece, we're more than competing against these teams and clubs are coming to our ground and we're having more chances than them, so I think the squad is more than capable of competing at this level,”
“We're getting good results at home and we'd obviously like to improve our away form by picking up more points but in terms of performances away from home, we've been more than capable of taking something.
“I think overall, we're just trying to build a reputation and there is a good tight knit dressing room here. I'm happy I've been able to settle in so quickly and gel into the group. As a team, I think we're up there in terms of team spirit.”
Manning is of the opinion that the hard-working style implemented by Millers boss Paul Warne means that the Championship’s bigger clubs find it difficult to match them up on home soil and says his side enjoy the challenge of looking to defy the odds.
“In terms of our style and the way we play, I don't think many teams will want to play against us,” he continued.
“Derby came to us in a good vein of form and we completely stopped them from doing what they wanted to do and they weren't able to handle our threats.
“I think out of all of the teams in the league, I think we're the last one that the big teams will want to be playing because we don't suit what they want us to be doing to implement their way of playing.”
The 22-year-old was thrown straight into first team action following his loan move to the Millers before the closure of the window and has been a regular in the engine room ever since, and the opportunity to play regular football has been gratefully received.
“At QPR at the beginning of pre-season I was playing and I was right in the mix, so it wasn't all that out of the blue to be chucked in here and I came here hoping that it would be the case,” Manning explained.
“It took me a few days and a couple of weeks of games to show my worth and get the gaffer's trust to get him to put me in and it's worked out pretty well. I'm delighted with how it's going and I'm looking forward to the future and seeing what can happen.”