Liam Manning has insisted that Bristol City must find a way to keep Scott Twine fit for the remainder of the season following his "excellent" display in the Reds' defeat to Wolves.

The Robins' FA Cup campaign came to an early end on Saturday lunchtime as Vitor Pereira's side secured a 2-1 win at Ashton Gate to book their place in the fourth round of the competition.

Goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes gave the Premier League side an early two-goal lead and it took a moment of magic from Twine to half that deficit. The attacking midfielder curled home a brilliant free-kick moments before half-time and while City couldn't complete the comeback, their second-half display was much improved.

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Saturday's goal was the 25-year-old's fifth of the season and he has now managed to score or assist in four of his last five appearances. Perhaps more importantly however, Twine has managed to start six games in a row and Manning believes keeping him fit and available could be key for the remainder of the Robins' season.

"Like I said, I’ve worked with Twiney before and I've known him a long time," Manning explained after the full-time whistle. "He never shies away from responsibility, you know, stepping up and delivering in that moment, and repeatedly doing it. He never hides from getting the ball or asking questions, and trying to make things happen.

"If you assess his first half of the season, we were obviously disappointed that we didn't have him for quite a period. You only have to look at what he's done in the last month to six weeks to see the impact he can have at the level.

"He's someone that we need to keep fit and we need to keep him in a good place because when he does, he can produce performances like he did today. I thought he was excellent."

Having spent the second half of last season on loan at Ashton Gate, Twine made his move to the West Country permanent last summer after City spent much of the transfer window pursuing his signature. The 25-year-old got off to the perfect start scoring off of the bench against Millwall on his second debut, but missed over a month of action after picking up an injury in a Severnside derby draw with Cardiff City in October.

The former Burnley man then managed to find the net again on his first start after recovering from injury, deflecting Anis Mehmeti's shot into the bottom corner against Plymouth Argyle. However, illness meant that he missed the Reds' 3-0 defeat to Portsmouth and 1-1 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Since Manning's side's defeat to West Brom just before Christmas, Twine has been an ever-present in the starting line-up. A good run over the festive period has put City back in contention for a place in the top six and now they must find a way to keep Twine fit and firing, starting with this weekend's trip to Coventry City.

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