Bristol City’s season is now over after the Robins exited the Championship play-offs with their defeat to Sheffield United in the semi-finals

18:45, 13 May 2025Updated 18:53, 13 May 2025

Liam Manning and Bristol City’s season has come to an end(Image: Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Liam Manning has confirmed his end-of-season plans after Bristol City exited the play-offs at the hands of Sheffield United, revealing the Reds’ staff were due to have individual meetings with the players at the Robins High Performance Centre before going on their respective breaks.

City’s first play-off campaign in 17 years ended at the quarter-final stage as they suffered 3-0 defeats both at Ashton Gate and Bramall Lane to lose 6-0 to Chris Wilder’s side on aggregate. After the disappointing first leg showing in BS3, goals from Kieffer Moore, Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare put the result beyond doubt in the Steel City on Monday evening.

Despite the frustrating end to the season, it has undoubtedly been a successful campaign for the Reds. Few at the start of the season expected the Robins to finish in the top six, and not only did they manage to book their spot in the play-offs, they did so with some truly special performances and such as their late home win against West Brom and their Good Friday victory over Sunderland. While most of the squad, and Manning himself, will likely be jetting off to take advantage of the break after a busy nine months or so, they all were due to be in attendance at the HPC on Tuesday.

READ MORE: Bristol City now have clear summer priority as promotion dream comes to end with play-off defeatREAD MORE: Chris Wilder makes ‘awkward’ Bristol City point as Sheffield United end Reds’ play-off campaign

“We’re in tomorrow to meet,” the head coach told Bristol Live in his post-match press conference on Monday evening. “We’ll have individual meetings with all the lads, and then we’ll reflect on that.

“I’m ready for a break, I’m knackered.”

Despite having a mountain to climb after their first leg defeat in South Bristol, it was Manning’s side who started the game on the front foot at Bramall Lane. Scott Twine struck the side netting with just two minutes on the clock and both Nahki Wells and Jason Knight forced saves out of Michael Cooper, who had been relatively untroubled over the course of the 90 minutes at Ashton Gate.

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However, the momentum of the match shifted completely when Moore headed the Blades in front a matter of minutes before the break. The Welshman managed to lose his marker inside the penalty area before rising highest to head Harrison Burrows’ corner past Max O’Leary and into the back of the net. Having broken the deadlock, Wilder’s side were able to grab a greater command of the game after the break, particularly when Hamer’s long-range shot found the top left corner courtesy of a healthy deflection off of the boot of Ross McCrorie.

Despite all hope seemingly being lost by that stage, City continued to battle and scrap for every loose ball and very nearly found what would have been a consolation goal when George Tanner forced a good stop out of Cooper with a powerful effort from distance. Of course, O’Hare’s late goal was one final kick in the teeth in what was an incredibly disheartening night for the Reds, but Manning’s overriding feeling come the full-time whistle was one of pride rather than disappointment.

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“It speaks volumes about them, and I’m so proud of the progress they’ve made,” Manning confessed. “You can see it in the last 15, 20 minutes, people are completely empty and even then, the set-pieces, you look at it, when you’ve got four missing that are probably our most aerial players, you’re naturally a bit nervy on set-pieces.

“I can’t speak highly enough of the lads. It’s been a pleasure to work with them this year, and they’re a great group that will only learn and get better with experiences like tonight.”

READ MORE: Sheffield United 3-0 (6-0 agg) Bristol City recap: Robins’ play-off dream ended at Bramall LaneREAD MORE: Liam Manning lifts lid on changing room message as Bristol City’s season ends in play-off loss