Front three combination gives Manning optimism

Liam Manning saw shoots of promise from his front three on Saturday despite the 4-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle.

Nathan Holland and Louie Barry started in support of striker Will Grigg, and the Aston Villa loanee teed up the 31-year-old for his fourth goal of the season, albeit a consolation early in the second half.

With Grigg’s work-rate impressive again, Manning said he was pleased with the threat his front three created.

“Griggy is incredible, and you can see how hard he works for the team,” said the head coach. “He’s so selfless with his running and he has quality.

“With Louie Barry and Nathan Holland with him, he had support and players who can carry the ball. The combination between the three was good today.”

Holland was brought in from the relative cold he has faced since signing in the summer from West Ham, having not started a game since the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on August 6, making just two substitute appearances prior to his starting berth against Plymouth.

Manning continued: “He has not had a huge amount of minutes since he came to the club for various reasons, so what you saw today were flashes of why we brought Nathan here.

“The challenge for him is to sustain that, deliver and add quality in the final bit. We'll push him and hopefully he can build on that.”