Former MK Dons boss Liam Manning has left his position at Bristol City and has taken the role at their Championship rivals Norwich City.

The 39-year-old, who was born in Norwich, will be a permanent successor to Johannes Hoff Thorup, who left the club in April. Former Arsenal player and England international Jack Wilshere had managed the final games of last season, but left the club at the end of the campaign.

Manning takes over a Canaries team that finished 13th in the 2024/25 season. The move ends his association with Bristol City, who he had joined from Oxford in November 2023 and who he had lead into the Championship play-offs in his sole full season at Ashton Gate.

The Robins finished 6th last season, only to suffer a heavy 6-0 aggregate defeat to Sheffield United in the Championship play-offs.

Norwich have confirmed Manning has signed a four year contract at Carrow Road, taking him to the end of the 2028/29 season, with the Canaries paying a release clause in Manning’s Bristol City contract.

It is as yet unclear who of Manning’s first team coaching staff is also liable to make the move from Bristol to Norwich, with the Canaries only confirming Manning’s appointment rather than any further changes to backroom staff. One mover could be Chris Hogg, who was Manning’s assistant at MK Dons and Oxford, and was part of his coaching set-up in Bristol.

Manning previously managed MK Dons between August 2021 and December 2022, which was his firs role as a senior manager in English football. He initially impressed, taking the Dons to third in League One and narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in the 2021/22 season, only to leave the Dons after a difficult start to the following campaign.

He told the official Norwich City website that following discussions with the Canaries’ Sporting Director Ben Knapper, he was excited to make the move east back to Norfolk. Manning was born in Norwich, attended Norwich City games when younger and was a part of the club’s academy before joining their East Anglian rivals Ipswich.

He said, “I’m privileged and honoured to have the opportunity to work for this fantastic football club. It’s a wonderful club with a big history and tradition.

“When I spoke to Ben and the owners about the opportunity here, I was really impressed by their vision and strategy for moving the club forward. I felt a clear alignment in how they want to play and develop players – that is something I was really excited to be a part of.

“It’s clear, there has already been a lot of valuable groundwork laid in recent seasons – it’s now important we build further on that and move the club forward.

“I’m really excited to meet the supporters and will do everything possible to give them a club they can be proud of.”

In a statement, Bristol City Chairman Jon Lansdown admitted his disappointment at having a change forced upon him.

He said, “We are disappointed to lose Liam after such a successful campaign.

“I would like to place on record my thanks to Liam for his hard work and commitment over the past 18 months and the memories we have made together and wish him and his family all the best for the future.

“We are assessing all options as we look to replace Liam.”