Grammar "manage to do"

All my students seem to have difficulty with the expression "manage to do". It is not a very formal expression, and it generally implies "succeed with a little difficulty". Here ar esome examples from the British National Corpus:

' Although I love traditional British desserts such as jam sponge, I can never manage to eat them at the end of a three-course meal,' Clayton says.

, he realized that the first job was to restore morale, and he did manage to instil some of his own determination into his players. There was a warmth

be more cooperative, if they are reassured and rewarded. If the handler can manage to hold the horse properly, and feed it lucerne hay at the same time

you fed and watered. You will be amazed at how much walking you will manage to do in a week: somehow the wonderful scenery seems to inspire you to

stories. The Guardian has said' In a class of their own... they manage to convey an astonishing amount of information.' Thursday November 30th -- Christmas Sale

pushing distance and who can provide friendship, support and practical help. We usually manage to provide every new member or new mum with a contact who can introduce her

an event which I knew would continue into the early hours. However I did manage to get out of bed at about 6.30 a.m., feed (-----) and myself and

classes, and excell