The full-back position in football isn't always seen as the most glamorous spot on the pitch.
Indeed, all the attention is usually on who is lining up in attack, and that's been no different this pre-season at Southampton, as Lewis Dobbin has bagged three goals to immediately stand out as a wonderful use of £9m.
Still, even if the full-back spot isn't viewed as the most exotic position to fill, Ryan Manning will continue to wear Southampton red and white with pride next season, as Tonda Eckert's main left-back choice.
Alongside Flynn Downes, who is tipping the Saints to be crowned as the 2026/27 champions in the Championship, Manning has been speaking positively about the campaign ahead this off-season.
Manning's defiant comments
Manning hasn't been quite as forthright as his midfield teammate in predicting a surge to top spot, but he has been defiant with his remarks, as he hopes the Saints will immediately bounce back from their Spygate-related heartbreak and gun for promotion.
He said, when speaking on the after-effects of Spygate and the coming season: "We have to draw a line under it. There's no point dwelling on it. We have to be men now and just crack on with this season and sort of continue on from where we were.
“The club has really coming together… I know we’re starting on -4, but our mindset is we’re winning this league and that’s it…”
— Lewis Coombes (@LewisCoombes) August 3, 2026
Fighting talk from Flynn Downes & Ryan Manning speaking to @AdamBlackmore during #SaintsFC pre-season.
🎥@SouthamptonFC @BBCSouthNews pic.twitter.com/Q1uOZyvilr
"We put 21 games unbeaten together at the end of last season. So we need to just continue that form and roll into a full season."
Like Downes, he sounds as if he is raring to go to try and get over last season's horrible disappointment, with a lot of confidence clearing coursing through Southampton's veins this pre-season.
Noting that the mood has been "brilliant" during the Saints' extensive pre-season camp in Germany, as well, the 30-year-old will be hoping to have another fantastic individual season, that ends in promotion glory, after really coming his own last campaign on the South Coast.
He will be key again next season
Nobody told Manning last season that the full-back spot on the pitch is usually seen as unflashy.
The expansive Irishman would put in some sublime attacking numbers, with eight goals and six assists amassed from 45 second tier appearances.
He also did his defensive dirty work valiantly, with his top-drawer display back in April against Ipswich Town, which killed the Saints' automatic promotion ambitions, summing up his well-rounded game nicely, with a goal scored, but Manning also managed to win six tackles and duels bravely.
He will be looking to have another terrific campaign where he's in amongst the goals, while also being a warrior defensively for his team's cause, with his know-how of winning promotion up to the Premier League during the 2023/24 season also coming in handy.
Manning might not be on the tip of the neutral's tongue when it comes to exciting second-tier players, but Southampton fans will be well aware of their trusty Irishman's importance in Eckert's first-team.
The Galway-born defender could even be looking to hit Danny Fox's heights when the 26/27 campaign gets underway, with Fox another attack-minded full-back from Southampton's recent past, who accumulated 11 assists in total when promotion was won up to the Premier League in 2012.
14 years on, there is another front-footed defender now calling the shots, with Manning hungry to win another promotion to firm up his status as a modern fan's favourite at St. Mary's.
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