BRISTOL City boss Liam Manning has opened up on Tommy Conway's move to Middlesbrough and the "unwanted noise" surrounding the striker's situation at Ashton Gate - revealing all parties would have liked the transfer to have been finalised earlier.

Despite those frustrations, Manning insists the Robins did everything in their power to keep Conway at Ashton Gate, with the striker turning down contract offers and making it clear he wanted the Middlesbrough move once he'd learnt of Boro's interest.

That meant Bristol City weren't really really able to strike up a bidding war for the striker despite Championship interest from Burnley, Hull and Norwich, with Conway insistent Boro was the move he wanted.

A deal was finally agreed at the end of last week, with Conway - Boro's top striker target this summer - coming off the bench to make his debut in Saturday's defeat at Derby.

“It’s about working a deal where everybody gets what they think is fair,” Manning told Bristol Live.

"I’m sure Tommy would have liked it earlier, we would have liked it earlier and I’m sure Middlesbrough would have liked it earlier. It’s taken longer than maybe everyone had expected but he’s gone.

“Sometimes there was a bit of unwanted noise around it but, I have to say, the group have been great, it’s not taken away from their focus, what they're doing, what they’ve concentrated on, so credit to the group for staying tight knit. It’s part of the game, it’s part of the industry, we have to move on quickly.”

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In an ideal world, Manning wouldn't have lost one of his star players to a rival and although Boro are expected to be in the promotion mix this season, the Bristol City boss also thinks his side are on the up.

He said: “I’m really excited by what we’re doing here and, I think if you speak with the lads, they are as well.

"I half-get it. I’ve said numerous times, if someone’s moving to a club that you go, Premier League - their journey’s gone quicker than the team has - the club has that history where you go, ‘move on, take that next step’.

“Tommy felt that maybe he’d done that which, when you look at it, move to a competitor rather than a massive step up in leagues etc.

“For me, players will make decisions on their futures, all we can do is control what we can and that’s make sure we look after the ones that want to be here, we look after the ones that are performing, and make sure they get rewarded, and build a squad that’s capable of pushing and has real competition.”

Conway was moving into the final year of his contract at Ashton Gate, hence Bristol City's need to sell once they learnt the striker wasn't going to sign a new deal. And although Manning admits there's a need to learn from the situation, he says the Robins couldn't have done much more to keep the striker.

“It’s the same as when you do good deals and you get things right, I think you have to reflect on everything,” he said.

“You can never force anybody. It wasn’t like we got to the summer and then like, ‘right, let’s try and do it’. The talks have been going on for a while, so it wasn’t like it was a last minute, ‘oh no, this has happened’. It's something that had been ongoing.

“I’d had numerous chats with Tommy last year and where things were at. It’s not like something I’d look at and go we’d be able to change a huge amount of it, to be honest.

“Of course, we’ll reflect, we’ll learn, we don’t want to lose our better younger players but, at the same point, no one will be bigger than the club, no one will be bigger than the team. If people express a desire not to be here then, for me, we’ll do something to move them on and get people in who are hungry to prove a point and show they’re all-in on the club.”