Bristol City boss Liam Manning is to take a leave of absence following the tragic death of his young son

Bristol City have confirmed that head coach Liam Manning will be on leave following the tragic death of his recently born son.

Assistant coach Chris Hogg will assume all football duties in Manning’s absence.

“Everyone at Bristol City Football Club is deeply saddened by the death of Liam’s recently born son Theo John Manning,” Bristol City said in a statement.

“We know that Bristol City fans and the entire football family will extend their condolences and deepest sympathies to Liam, his wife Fran and their son Isaac at this difficult time.”

“Liam will be away for a while and all football duties will be handled by Chris Hogg.”

“We ask that Liam and his family’s privacy is respected during this time.”

Several clubs across the English football pyramid have expressed their condolences on social media, including Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, Bristol Rovers and Norwich City.

Hogg’s first game as stand-in manager for the Robins will be an away trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday.

It would be Hogg’s first game in charge of a senior team, having mostly worked with academy teams at Ipswich Town and Newcastle from 2015 to 2020.

Hogg joined Manning’s coaching staff at MK Dons as an assistant in August 2021 and held the same role when he moved to Oxford United in March 2023.

The couple stayed at The U’s for eight months before moving to Ashton Gate in November last year.

Under Manning, Bristol City finished 11th in the Championship last season and were 11 points outside the play-offs.

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The 11th-place finish was the Robins’ best since the 2018/19 season, when they finished an impressive eighth.

Manning’s side are in 16th place in the table this season with 11 points from nine games thanks to two wins, five draws and two defeats.