SAINTS boss Russell Martin “enjoyed” seeing Ryan Manning play in midfield during Wednesday evening’s match.
The defender played in holding midfield as Shea Charles moved forward and Charly Alcaraz played as the number eight.
Manning’s new role follows a summer transfer window in which Saints added two new left-backs. Charlie Taylor, 30, joined on a free transfer from Burnley, while Brazilian Wellington, 23, will arrive from Sao Paulo in January. They also have Juan Larios, 20, who could contribute this season once he recovers from injuries that have sidelined him since 2022.
The Irish international performed well in the unfamiliar role, dropping deep to support when playing out from the back and aiming to join the attack. He played a nice ball over the Oxford United defense to set Charly Alcaraz through on goal, but the Argentine was beaten to the ball by the goalkeeper.
Manning described playing in midfield as “nostalgic,” having started his career at QPR in that position. Martin was pleased with the 28-year-old, whom he previously tried as a center-back at Swansea City.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, Martin said, “I just wanted him to go there so we could see Shea Charles a bit higher up. He understands it very, very well. At the moment, if Flynn gets injured, we have Shea Charles. But that’s it. So if Shea was then injured—I saw a lot of good stuff from Ryan. I really enjoyed his performance, actually.”
“Him and Sam Amo-Ameyaw were probably the two better ones in the first half. But yeah, we are just trying to be flexible in pre-season and work on a few things. Maybe look at a few options. We know what he can do at left back, left wing back. Now it’s about learning some other stuff.”