Birmingham City v Bristol City

The Robins have displayed their true colours
this December to leave themselves perched
just outside the Sky Bet Championship’s playoff
places halfway through the campaign.
A run of three successive victories over fellow
promotion contenders Sunderland, Hull City and
Watford - scoring eight times in the process -
underlined their statement of intent heading into the
New Year.
The 1-4 victory on Boxing Day at Vicarage Road was
a first for Bristol City in the league in 12 years, with
their current run the club’s most productive since
November 2020. Yet Head Coach, Liam Manning,
who replaced Nigel Pearson in November, is refusing
to get carried away despite the club’s lofty position.
City are currently eighth and just a point behind
Sunderland in the final play-off berth but have not
finished higher in the second tier since returning to
the division in 2015/16.
Manning is excited about the progress being made
at Ashton Gate but believes there is more to come,
telling BBC Radio Bristol: “The performance was
excellent [against Watford]. I thought we carried a
real threat throughout the game, defended extremely
well but we think we can play a lot better than that.
BRISTOL CITY
ROBINS ON SONG THIS WINTER
“In terms of their chances and the shifts in
momentum came from us being either loose with the
ball or making poor decisions, so that is the bit that
excites me. But I don’t want to take anything away;
the attitude, the togetherness, the behaviours were
on the money, so I’m delighted for the players and the
staff.
“A couple of weeks ago at Blackburn we hadn’t won
in three and there was a slightly lower feeling, but
we’ve shown the players it’s not high or low, it is about
turning up and concentrating on doing the best you
can every day and do it collectively and what we’ve
seen recently is a group that are fully on board.”
After a slow-burning first six weeks at the
helm his inherited side have begun to showcase
their capabilities and are growing in self-belief. A
consistency of selection, with Manning having named
the same starting XI for the last three games, has
bred familiarity and nurtured an understanding of
roles and responsibilities.
Goalkeeper Max O’Leary has been ever present
between the posts this season, keeping six clean
sheets, but did concede twice to Blues when the
two sides met back in August. The Irishman, who
had a loan at Solihull Moors in 2017/18, has limited
20 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY V BRISTOL CITY