Little-known boss is flexing his mussels in breakthrough job in Belgium

BELGIANS dip their chips in mayonnaise, but their footballers have left the rest of the world playing ketchup.

From Vincent Kompany to Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, the Premier League has become a Flemish fiefdom, and their Red Devils come to Wembley this weekend sitting proudly at No.1 in the FIFA rankings.

Even some of the greats we claim as our own – cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins and Hollywood royalty Audrey Hepburn – were born in Belgium.

“Maybe from the outside, Belgium looks complicated to understand,” said Kompany, who won four titles as Manchester City captain.

“But from the inside, actually every country is complicated.”

Within the manifesto for world domination by a population of just 11 million, however, they are investing in English coaching expertise.

If Paul Clement was still tethered to his mentor Carlo Ancelotti, he would be top of the Premier League with Everton – not to mention top of the charts with Spirit of the Blues.

Instead, h he is mid-table with Cercle Bruges in Belgium’s top flight, and in the secon second division Liam Manning, who barely bare created a ripple in the pond as a player, is now in charge of Lommel SK, S burnishing his reputation as a gifted developer of young g talent.

Last winter, w Manning and former Sw Swansea and Derb Derby boss Clement were blowing t the froth off a capp cappuccino in New Yo York after a chance meeting at a coaching co conferenc conference.

Now th they are both working 3,700 miles aw away in football’s most unexplain unexplained hotbed. “It’s one of life’s coincide coincidences,” said 35- year- old Manning (left), ( who spent six years on the books at Ipswich without making a first team appearance.

“When I was working in New York last seaso season, I bumped into Paul at a coaching conference c and met up with him for a cup of coffee and a chat about football. He has a terrific knowledge of the game, and the quality of the people he’s worked with as a coach speaks for itself.

“Then he gets the job at Cercle Bruges and, a few weeks later, I’m working in Belgium too. I got a couple

of nice texts off him when I got this job. I have ambitions, and the ultimate goal is to coach at the highest level in the Premier League – how I get there is another story, but there is a great opportunity for me to do well here.”

Manning’s new club is part of the City Football Group – the holding company in charge of nine clubs around the world in which Manchester City is the crown jewel.

Lommel is a sleepy town of just 34,000 people near the Dutch border and Manning said: “There are numerous aspects to the project here – winning football matches and promotion are prominent among them – but there is a huge emphasis on player development.

“In a dressing room of 14 different nationalities and four languages, it’s a work in progress, but as a coach it’s a great chance to work at a club of exciting potential.

“We are in the early stages of implementing our philosophy and developing the players.

“First and foremost, I try to understand footballers as people.” Manning has not worked in Belgium long enough to solve the riddle of a small nation’s sudden production of so many world-class players.

“I’ve only been here a couple of months, but I can see a platform which will provide opportunities for young players to prosper,” he added.

“It’s a model that has worked for clubs like Ajax in Holland. At any level, the best way to find your feet is for your feet to be in charge of the ball.”

Even some of the greats that we claim as our own were born in Belgium, like Sir Bradley Wiggins and Audrey Hepburn