Bristol City

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Former Bristol City manager Gary Johnson says everyone at the club needs to "believe" they can reach the play-offs as the season heads into its final stretch, starting away to Burnley on Saturday.

Johnson was the last Robins manager to take the club into the Championship top six during the 2007-08 season.

Bristol City are seventh in the table, level on points with West Brom above them and two points behind Coventry in fifth with eight games remaining.

"You've just got to keep going and believe your team and the team believe in their manager and the club are good enough. Every game is a cup final and that's how you've got to treat it," Johnson told BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City.

Johnson managed Bristol City from 2005 to 2010 and led the side to fourth in the table in 2008, taking them to a Wembley play-off final where they were beaten 1-0 by Hull.

He said it is like being inside a "pressure cooker" at this stage of a season.

"You've got to try and shut out the noise and you've just got to do your job as a manager and the players have got to do their job," he said.

"The players have got to realise they've got to go out and affect the game, they can't be waiting for somebody else to go out and do it because to get in amongst that top group in that top six, every player has got to play their upmost for the rest of the season.

"No one can afford an off day and that's going to be important."

Listen to Sound of the City every Monday at 18:00-19:00 GMT on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Sounds.

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Bristol City head coach Liam Manning said he wants Nahki Wells to extend his stay at the club into a seventh season, and revealed early contract talks have taken place with the Bermuda striker.

Wells scored the Robins' second as they beat Norwich City 2-1 to continue their Championship play-off push, with the 34-year-old having found the target eight times this season, matching his figure from last term.

Wells was signed from Burnley in January 2020 and has been a regular and respected presence in the side under four different managers at Ashton Gate – Lee Johnson, Dean Holden, Nigel Pearson and now Manning – but his deal expires at the end of the season.

"Yes," said Manning, when asked if he would like to keep Wells, who is the only individual in the current first-team squad over the age of 30.

"We've been in touch with his agent, so that's still ongoing behind the scenes, [but] there's no news on that one.

"He's having a fantastic season, if you look at his contribution and what he brings to the group - he's the only one over the age of 30.

"He's hugely instrumental in [terms of] some of the stuff behind the scenes in keeping people well on track and focused and holding people accountable – the personality he brings and the standards he sets; you only have to look at his overall condition to see how well he looks after himself."

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Bristol City boss Liam Manning hopes to have George Tanner back before the end of the season but admitted he cannot be certain after the full-back underwent knee surgery.

The 25-year-old sustained the injury in blocking a shot during the 1-1 draw at Sheffield United on Tuesday night but completed the full 90 minutes.

Tanner, who has made 26 Championship appearances this season, had an operation on Thursday, but the timeline as to when he may return remains uncertain.

There could be some relief for Manning, however, with Ross McCrorie due to resume training over the international break with a view to competing for a place for the Robins' next Championship fixture at Burnley on 29 March.

"It was from an outstanding moment, he's made a block and there's a little bit of swelling afterwards – it's one of those injuries that unfortunately happen," Manning said, after the Robins' 2-1 victory over Norwich City.

"Hopefully we will see him before the end of the year, but I don't know for definite – you never know how he will respond.

"The operation went well, so hopefully we can accelerate things but all depends on how his body responds."

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Bristol City boss Liam Manning spoke to BBC Radio Bristol following their 2-1 win over Norwich.

"A nervy last five minutes but it is testament to the group and another experience ticked off," he said.

"We have been in that position numerous times this season and dropped points so to get one over the line, huge credit goes to the lads for staying calm and sticking at it – running, fighting and competing and doing the gritty side of the game that is so important.

"I thought we carried a real threat – Sykesy's goal, a moment of real quality, delighted with the press to regain it for Nahki who obviously had another chance. Some of the attacking moves were really quite slick and we progressed the ball up the pitch really well and caused real problems.

"Nahki's a little frustrated not to score two but you need big players to step up in big moments and delighted we showed the quality to do that. The lads are in a good spot and we have to keep it going.

"We have had some tough times along the way since I have been here, we have taken a bit of stick, but it was around building something, the way we work – coaching takes time, especially how we coach the players, to make decisions and not be robots.

"Naturally along the way, you going to get it right and get it wrong. It's a young group so you have to suck up some tough experiences along the way but what we've done is made sure our behaviours are always good.

"We don't get too hung up if it's been poor and we don't get carried away when it's been good – that's been a massive strength."

Bristol City will look to maintain their push for a Championship play-off spot when they welcome Norwich City on Friday night (20:00 GMT).

The Robins picked up a valuable late draw at Bramall Lane on Tuesday to extend their unbeaten run to six games (W3 D3) and are just two points off the top six.

The Canaries have won just one of their previous seven matches (D4 L2) and are seven points behind the play-off places.

• Bristol City are looking to complete a league double over Norwich City for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign.

• Norwich have won four of their past seven league visits to Bristol City (D2 L1) and are looking to win consecutive games at Ashton Gate for the first time since March 1975.

• Bristol City have won seven of their past 10 home league matches (D2 L1) and haven't conceded more than once in any of those 10 games.

• Norwich City are unbeaten in their past three away league games (W1 D2), last enjoying a longer unbeaten run on the road between February and April 2023 (five).

• Anis Mehmeti has scored seven goals in his past nine league starts at Ashton Gate and has scored nine goals at home this season. The last Robins player to reach double figures for home league goals in a season was Andreas Weimann in 2021-22 (12).

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Bristol City have proved they can match the very top teams in the Championship, says midfielder Mark Sykes.

The Republic of Ireland international came off the bench to score a last-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United, the new leaders, on Tuesday.

"I watched the game in the first half and thought we were the better team and it felt like that when I was on the pitch and it was getting the message to the lads the game was there for the taking," Sykes told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We've played Sheffield United a few times and it's felt like we've been the better team and not got anything from the games."

The draw moves the Robins to within two points of the play-off places with nine games remaining.

"We've got to move on quickly with another game in a few days at Ashton Gate and hopefully we can get another good result," added Sykes.

"We know as a group we can play against these teams and I feel we've shown we were much the better side and hopefully we can show that for the rest of the season."

Bristol City host Norwich City on Friday, when a win would take them into the top six ahead of the weekend's other games.

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Despite two 1-1 results in three days, Bristol City's draw away to Sheffield United felt "a lot different" said assistant manager Chris Hogg.

The Robins scored a 90th minute equaliser at Bramall Lane to come away with a point against the second-placed Blades, after being held by 10-man Hull on Saturday.

"The outcome is the same but I think for supporters and players alike and the staff it feels a lot different to what it did at the weekend," Hogg told BBC Radio Bristol.

"The challenge for us with nine games left is to keep churning away, keep trying to perform the way we want the group to perform.

"What you do see is an identity of the team and some of the actions and behaviours that we've been saying we want to see and the lads are doing a great job at the moment of producing that."

Hogg said the Robins deserved the point, which keeps them right in play-off contention, after responding well to going a goal behind, before Mark Sykes' late equaliser.

"Then the pleasing thing I think you see going the goal down you see the reaction," he said.

"We just kept playing the way that was getting us some joy in the game, what we wanted to do pre-game, passing the ball and using it and attacking certain spaces.

"It was a good deserved point I think."

Bristol City aim to keep their play-off hopes alive as they visit title chasers Sheffield United on Tuesday (20:00 GMT).

The Robins are two points shy of West Bromwich Albion in sixth and could climb as high as fifth if neither Baggies nor Coventry City can pick up wins in their respective matches.

But the Blades will be a tough challenge, with the Yorkshire outfit now level on points with league leaders Leeds United and rivals Burnley hot on their heels in third.

A win could see Sheffield United back on top, but the Robins are unbeaten across their past five league games as they pursue a play-off spot.

• Sheffield United have won each of their last three league games against Bristol City and will be looking to win four in succession for the first time in the Football League.

• Bristol City have won three of their last five away league games against Sheffield United (L2), though have lost on each of their last two trips in November 2021 (0-2) and April 2023 (0-1).

• Sheffield United have won six of their nine midweek league games this season (L3), winning three of their four matches at Bramall Lane.

• Bristol City are unbeaten in their last four away league games (W1 D3), and could win successive games on the road for the first time since November.

• Bristol City's Nahki Wells has scored five away league goals this season; only in 2012-13 (11), 2013-14 (8), 2015-16 (9), and 2020-21 (8) has he netted more on the road in a Football League campaign.

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Bristol City have been awarded gold by the English Football League for their environmental sustainability credentials.

The Championship side have held gold status since 2023 under the EFL's previous green club's scheme, but have been re-awarded the top status after the assessment was updated in January, external.

Bristol City's 'Project Whitebeam' initiative helped them score 89 - 76 is the threshold for gold - across a range of sustainability criteria.

Among the club's practices are using local food suppliers at Ashton Gate, providing clothes and food donations to avoid waste, and offering fans free and subsidised transport to matches.

"This new gold award cements our position as a real leader in this space and we will continue our commitment to Project Whitebeam and do what we can to be greener," said Bristol City chief executive officer Gavin Marshall.

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Hull City boss Ruben Selles described his players as "warriors" after they played 76 minutes with 10 men and still earned a 1-1 draw against Bristol City.

Joao Pedro's stunning goal deservedly put the Tigers ahead but he was sent off 96 seconds later for a perceived high challenge on George Tanner.

The hosts equalised in the second half through Anis Mehmeti's penalty, but were unable to breach the Hull defence.

Selles told BBC Radio Humberside: "We will take the point but we came here with the clear intention of getting three.

"We showed domination in the first 15 minutes and were the best team by far but the red card changed everything. We were unlucky with that situation. But I am proud of the effort.

"The overall performance from the very beginning - winning the ball high and trying to play vertical with the build-up - showed the boys were ready to make a good performance and be competitive.

"The goal was a clear example of that. It was an amazing action from Joao with his technical ability."

Selles said he had not had time to think about appealing against the Pedro's dismissal less than two minutes later but "will look into it".

"Things happen for you and against you so I am going to keep my opinion and talk about the performance of the boys," the Spaniard added. "We should talk about the warriors on the pitch.

"It really doesn't matter what I feel. I need to coach. I try not to speak too much about decisions."

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Assistant boss Chris Hogg said Bristol City need to show more confidence after failing to earn victory against 10-man Hull City.

Pedro's brilliant strike put the visitors ahead on 13 minutes at Ashton Gate, but he was sent off 96 seconds later.

And although the Robins completely dominated after that - and equalised through Anis Mehmeti's penalty - they could not find a second to take all the points.

Hogg, who was deputising for boss Liam Manning who had lost his voice, told BBC Radio Bristol: "With them being down to 10 men for so long people will think we should have steamrollered them.

"Having 10 men can galvanise teams but we just weren't quite at our best in breaking them down and that's the most frustrating thing.

"They defended their box really well but it came down to belief and our quality. The penalty gave us a lift and gave the whole stadium a lift. But we struggled to break down their block and that is something we will have to have a look at.

"There were some good bits and some nearly bits, but the boys need to back themselves. We know we could have done better in some moments. We didn't start the game with our usual intent."

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Bristol City "look forward" to their home games says head coach Liam Manning, with the club having lost only once in their past nine matches at Ashton Gate.

The Robins' strong home run goes back to 30 November and has helped them move up to seventh in the table, level on points with West Brom, and right into the mix of the play-off race.

They face Hull City on Saturday (15:00 GMT), the first of six home games before the end of the campaign.

"We have to be prepared, we have to turn up - we definitely look forward to playing at home at the minute so we have to turn up and be the best versions of ourselves," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

Bristol City have lost just one of their past 13 league games against Hull City, a 2-1 defeat in July 2022.

Manning, however, is wary of the challenge the opposition pose even though they are in a relegation battle.

"It's a different challenge on Saturday, that's why we have to show up, we need to work, we need to compete and do everything we can to try and win," he added.

"When you look at them, you know they've got threats, they've got some extremely talented players, they're probably in a little bit of transition with the turnover they've had and they've invested quite a bit of money."

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Bristol City defender Zak Vyner believes the team's togetherness is a big part of their success this season as they look to move into the top six on Saturday when they face Hull.

The Robins are seventh in the table, level on points with West Brom above them, and pushing for a top six finish in the Championship for the first time since 2007-2008.

"We are together, there's no other way to put it," Vyner - who scored his first goal for almost two years in the 2-0 win against Millwall on Tuesday - told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Whoever comes on the pitch knows what they're doing, if someone makes a mistake the next person is right there to back them up and that's what we're built on, that's the foundations. "

Bristol City have lost only twice in their past 12 league games since the Christmas period to surge into the race for the play-offs.

"We're happy together, we are a real tight-knit unit, we have each other's backs. What stands out his year is in games that don't look like anything happening we still all have the belief on the pitch that something is going to happen and that showed [against Millwall]," Vyner added.

"We're turning those into wins, and that's the difference this year. We are a strong unit and hopefully we can continue the form we're in."