The 28-year-old had been absent from the starting lineup for some time, as he was not even selected for Russell Martin’s first six squads of the season.
But he is now back in action, with coach Martin telling him to just play his natural game.
“The gaffer wasn’t happy with the Bournemouth game. I suppose for people not playing some opportunities can come from that," said Manning, speaking about getting back into the team after a 3-1 loss to Bournemouth.
“I had a chat with him and he half gave me an idea of what he was thinking. I was chucked in at the deep but it was a long time coming.
"The couple of months that I was not involved helped because I had nothing to lose. There was no pressure in my mind - I was grateful to get the opportunity.
"The worst case was I was just going to go back to where I was, as bad as that might sound, but it was freeing. You can just go out there and try to grasp it."
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