Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson and goalkeeper Frank Fielding have both been previewing our trip to Pride Park on to face Derby County on Friday evening.
A win for Bristol City would see us move into third place in the Championship table and close the gap on second placed Derby to only two points and Johnson is keenly aware that we’ve experienced a ‘sticky spell’ in recent times as we are chasing our first points of the calendar year following Cup distractions.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media ahead of the game, Johnson explained.
‘For sure, we want to go there and put in a good performance first and foremost. We had a very good result against them at home but I`m sure they will use that as internal motivation to make sure it doesn`t happen again. They`re a very good footballing side and it always presents a good game. We like to play in games like this. They have excellent players, as do we and it will be a good advert for the Championship – it`s one I am looking forward to.’
As for the ‘sticky spell’ Johnson went on to say.
‘We`re in a bit of a sticky spell as it appears even though our performances, bar the Aston Villa game, I have been pleased with. We want the desired result which is three points each time. It`s up to us to refocus, to make sure everything we do is built around making sure all the intricacies in the game are correct. Only then, through getting the process, the training and the mindset right, do you have a chance of winning the game. We are in a great position. We`re going into the tail end of the season in excellent head space; the players are in excellent individual form and while a couple of games have caught up with us we also have new signings, players returning to fitness and it`s an exciting time to be a Bristol City fan.’
With City being without a win in five games, Johnson didn’t believe we were in a crisis as he pointed out confidence and morale remains high in the camp, and again he feels performances have been good.
‘It`s definitely not that (crisis). The players are in good form and they trust each other. We trust them as well and we`re adding to it all the time. I did have fears about January, I have said that before, but we would all have taken where we are now at the beginning of the season. The progression over the past year has been outstanding.’
As for Fielding, having spent two years at Derby he knew it would be a tough game against Gary Rowett’s side given they are without defeat stretching back to November, but he was confident we could get back to winning ways.
‘They are a good team with really good players and they`re doing really well. We`re doing really well too although we haven`t had the results we wanted recently but we`ll get back on the horse and pick up some more wins. I think it is one of the hardest leagues in the world; everyone can beat everyone and we`ll take that into Friday. Not many people will expect us to get a result there but we believe that as as a squad we can get a result there.’
