More change brought much-needed stability to Toronto FC on Monday.

For once, it seems, there won’t be any off-season sackings. No turnover. No more inconsistency.

When Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment introduced Bill Manning as the club’s new president on Thanksgiving, Larry Tanenbaum and the MLSE board knew full well what they were getting: The opposite of an “overhaul.”

It’s something Manning, a former Real Salt Lake executive, made abundantly clear when he met with MLSE’s head honchos last month.

“What TFC needs is some consistency and stability,” Manning told the Toronto Sun.

“That’s what I believe leads to success — especially in this league.”

Stability — around TFC, at least — is code for no more immediate sackings. Limited turnover. Steady.

It will undoubtedly allow TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko to breath a sigh of relief.

After all, history hasn’t been kind to TFC brass in identical situations. You’ll recall the recent lineage.

Two years ago, outgoing MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke sacked former TFC president Kevin Payne, who had replaced former head coach Paul Mariner with Ryan Nelsen. Leiweke then hired Bezbatchenko, who eventually canned Nelsen in favour of bench boss Greg Vanney.

That’s where we stand today — with the Reds a point away from clinching their first post-season berth.

“From an outsider’s perspective — and I remember telling this to the (MLSE) board — for me, TFC has always been in constant flux,” said Manning, who has also held front-office positions with the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia Eagles. “The number of coaches, different GMs, the lineups, the players, if you look at TFC’s top 14-15 players every year it’s constant change. The one thing that I saw, clearly, at RSL in what we built was we built a consistent core group of players, a front office in sync. If I can help establish that here at TFC I think that will build success.”

League-wide consensus is that MLSE continues to swing for the fences — in its search for DPs and top suits to run the organization.

The fact Manning helped build a consistent winner in Salt Lake isn’t lost on the masses. It attracted a number of suitors.

It’s believed multiple MLS clubs — including the Montreal Impact — were in the running to land his services.

“I took 10 flights in three weeks,” Manning added. “I really was all over the place. I met with some folks outside of soccer as well.”

With his contract with RSL ending in August, Manning had Toronto FC in the back of his mind. He knew there was a vacancy.

“I had a friend of mine reach out to Larry to let him know my contract would be expiring and to let him know there was some interest.”

The interest was mutual, apparently, and Manning’s phone rang in late August to set up a meeting. He accepted the position on Sept. 18.

“I felt I was the guy they really wanted,” Manning said. “When I looked at it, I felt the foundation was here for future success.”

He’s not ruling out the current team, either.

“I told Tim (Bezbatchenko), from an outsider’s perspective I think you’ve done a nice job putting together a roster that can compete in the playoffs and make some noise over time.” Manning offered. “My goal is not necessarily to come in and shake things up, but to fine tune it. And figure out how to make this into a championship organization.”

Beyond that, there’s building a club that can be among the best in the region.

“(MLSE) is an organization, to me, that spells out ambition,” Manning said. “They want to be among the model franchises in MLS.”

Manning’s thinking bigger, recalling RSL’s run to the CONCACAF Champions League final in 2011.

“I view the CONCACAF region as critical,” he added. “We want to be among the best in the region — in CONCACAF.”

The on-field product remains Bezbatchenko’s primary responsibility.

Manning has a plethora of other items to tend to — sub-par TV numbers, filling 30,000 seats and stadium renovations.

He’ll also be meeting with supporters groups sometime after arriving ahead of Saturday’s game.

“It’s one of the first things I did at RSL,” Manning said of meeting with fans. “It’s one of the best things I did.”

That could serve as a jumping off point to learning more about Toronto as a sports city.

“You can’t take work in one market and replicate it immediately in another market,” Manning said. “Every market is unique.”

Especially this one.

After all the losing. All the turnover. All the turmoil the past eight season.

The Reds have, seemingly, started their upwards trajectory.

MLSE believes Manning could be the one to take it to new extremes.

THE MANNING FILE

*As president of Real Salt Lake

-Two-time MLS Executive of the Year (2012, ’14)

-MLS Cup champion (2009)

-Western Conference champions (2013)

-MLS Cup finalist (2013)

-Eastern Conference champions (2009)

-CONCACAF Champions League finalist (2011)