When Will still spoke for the first time when the New Southampton manager in May, he was asked what Saints fans would expect from his team. His answer: “High energy.”
That is an expression that many manager uses to get supporters aside, but it is not always the case when their players get onto the field.
But last Saturday, with Saints 1-0 at home at Hollywood-stundled Wrexham on the opening day of the championship season, and the clock tapped to the 90th minute, we saw the energy of that in red and white that still spoke when he first got through the door at Staplewood.
There was a man who embodied the philosophy of Still above all his teammates, took the game at the Nekschurk and took fans from their seats. That man was Ryan Manning.
The 27-year-old went into the action with just 18 minutes of normal time to go, like a man on a mission. While the clock hit 90, he buried a beautiful free kick in the upper right corner to send St. Mary's in a frenzy.
While the ball is in the net, Manning turned around and immediately ran back to half the line, and hit the Southampton -Badge on his chest as he pulled out a passionate roar. He wasn't ready yet.
Six minutes later, deep in the stop time, he used his fresh legs to race along the left and to slide the ball into the box that led to the winner of Jack Stephens.
These are not scenes Southampton fans have been all too used to the past year. The sound that spread over St. Mary's when the last whistle last season felt like the release of all the trauma, in which their 12 points were the second lowest Premier League points ever.
After such a campaign for coming up with energy in the top flight, many wondered how much damage it has done to the players involved. But when he spoke with Daily Mail Sport, while Wind hit the Southampton training field, Manning made it clear that it was still galvanized the group.
“It is not easy to make the group excited and go again, but the new Gaffer and the staff have done that really well,” says Manning, on behalf of Midnite, the new official training kit partner of Southampton.
The Republic of Ireland International came back a little later for the preseason than his colleagues, because of commitments with his national side, but from the first moment he met, he was excited to work under the 32-year-old.
“He came across the first meeting very well. The first few sessions were brilliant, “Manning explains. 'Everyone looks forward to coming in and training every day, they are really competitive; On competition -based things, small games go between us.
“The information we receive has been really clear, and it has been a very positive few weeks that came after a very tough season last year.”
Manning and his colleagues can 'keep' from coming in for training, but when asked about the most memorable moments of sessions during his first six weeks under still, he immediately chuckles and mentions run.
To achieve the 'High Energy' football that the English coach born in Belgium, the players must be fit, be super fit and they have still implemented many running exercises during the advance season to ensure that his team is in top form.
At the end of June, when the players returned from sipping to Pina Coladas through the swimming pool, they were sent to Solent University to undergo a series of tests. One test stands out in Manning's Spirit above everyone else, and not because he enjoyed it.
“Pre-season is a tough time, an ENT time, but at the same time it is worth it,” the defender continues. 'You can see yourself go and get fit again, go back in the swing of things.
'We did the VO2 Max [test]The treadmill, which is not fun at all. You can be the best runner in the world, and that is still difficult.
'You run until you can't. You are literally on a harness that keeps you up for when you fall off the treadmill. It was a highlight for a bad reason; Not nice. '
If you go to the YouTube channel of Southampton, you can see why Manning didn't enjoy it.
Joshua Quarshie, who participated in the summer as the first signing of the Silent Era, was the fastest player in 2 last season. Bundesliga and reached a terrifying top speed of 37.04 km/h, but even he looked like he had just run a marathon after completing the test.
As soon as the Blue VO2 mask was stripped of his face, the 21-year-old leaned down to catch his breath while leaning on the treadmill to prevent him from falling over.
Let his team still not exclusively run. As can be seen by some of the beautiful movements they have strung against each other against Wrexham, they do a lot of work on the grass.
“It is a lot of team stuff, we do a lot of it on the grass outside in training,” Manning shares. 'We have a meeting for the training where they pass on the information, and then we will almost implement it outside.
“He is really clear in what he wants. The message is fairly simple, and it is there to record all meetings and to record the small one-on-one chats that he will have with us about specific things he needs to convey. '
The early signs are that the Southampton players have purchased the philosophy of Still's philosophy of high-oxy football, pressing in core.
But on lunch on Sunday they will be confronted with their first major test among the new boss – sorry, wrexham fans – while they take on Ipswich Town, who stopped the Premier League in the previous term.
Still wants his team 'there' when they go to the Portman Road Turf for what can already be described as an automatic promotion Six-Pointer, so Manning and his teammates will have to run those legs again if they have to appease their manager and get the three points.
Ryan Manning spoke on behalf of the British bookmaker Midnite, the new official training kit partner of Southampton. Midnite surprised a group of loyal Saints fans with a £ 1,000 cash prize via Parachute Skydivers who interrupted a training session of the first team on Thursday.