Bristol City will need to overturn a three-goal deficit against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane to keep their Premier League dream aliveLiam Manning and Bristol City have a mountain to climb against Sheffield United(Image: EFL)

Liam Manning admits that he, his coaching staff and the Bristol City squad have spoken about some of football’s biggest comebacks, including Liverpool’s Champions League win over AC Milan and Sheffield Wednesday’s League One play-off win over Peterborough, ahead of the second leg of their play-off semi-final against Sheffield United.

The Robins travel to Bramall Lane on Monday evening with a mountain to climb, having suffered a 3-0 defeat in the first leg at Ashton Gate on Thursday. After Rob Dickie was shown a straight red card in controversial circumstances in first-half stoppage time, goals from Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks and Callum O’Hare mean that Chris Wilder’s side, to most at least, have one foot in the Wembley final.

Up until Dickie’s red card, the Reds had been more than competitive in the first leg. Despite creating little in the way of clear scoring chances, Joe Williams rattled the crossbar with a powerful effort from the edge of the penalty area while the likes of Nahki Wells and Yu Hirakawa linked up well to ask questions of the Blades’ backline.

READ MORE: Rob Dickie, Joe Williams, Cam Pring: Bristol City team news ahead of Sheffield United clashREAD MORE: Every word Liam Manning said on Bristol City play-off loss, referee ‘concerns’ and Dickie appeal

Of course, Manning is under no illusion of the challenge ahead of him and his players, but he has pointed to examples where bigger deficits have been overturned during City’s preparation for their trip to the Steel City.

“We’re definitely not down and out; that has to be the mindset of everybody,” the head coach explained in his pre-match press conference at the High Performance Centre. “It’s funny, naturally you tend to look at comebacks and the history of comebacks, and I’ve gone back through loads and spoke the other night about the League One play-off a few years ago.

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“You go back to the Champions League final, which we were laughing about this morning, 2005, the Milan-Liverpool one. We were chatting to a few of the lads about that, which was quite funny because there were quite a few of the lads who were born after 2000, so there were a few who were either not born or still in nappies when that game happened. That’s the beauty of it; if you throw the towel in now, that speaks volumes about you as a person and a professional.

“I’ve said it from day one coming in here,” Manning continued. “I’ve had to fight to get into the position that I’m in, having had numerous setbacks, not making it as a player etc. So for me, I’ll be fighting until the final whistle tomorrow night and I’ll be expecting the same of the lads, and that has to be underpinned by a huge amount of belief.”

Throughout the season so far, the Robins’ ability to bounce back from adversity has been a major factor in their success. Over the course of the regular Championship campaign, Manning’s side never lost more than two matches in succession and typically bounced back from poor displays, such as their defeats at the hands of Portsmouth and West Brom, in impressive fashion.

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To turn things around against Wilder’s side on Monday, City are going to have to do something they’ve not done all term: score three goals in a single game away from Ashton Gate. While that will be by no means easy, the Reds head coach is hopeful his players will call upon their experiences to upset the odds and carve out their own piece of play-off history.

“There’s no expectation or pressure on us,” Manning admitted. “Nobody expects us to get anything from tomorrow night, so for me, it’s, can you look yourself in the mirror and know that you gave everything?

“I think that’s the biggest bit of your behaviours, how you go about it, the fight you show, the passion, that has to be built into you and knowing this group, they’ve shown it. How long ago was Preston? However long ago that was, we’re 2-0 down with so much to play for, and we got it back to 2-2. We have to use those experiences and that belief.

“It’s half-time, they scored three in a leg, why can’t we?”

READ MORE: Chris Wilder responds to Liam Manning’s red card verdict as Sheffield United beat Bristol CityREAD MORE: What Bristol City fans did after play-off loss as risks of winter transfer window now realised