Derek McInnes was absolutely correct when he came out after the game against Leicester City at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night and said that nobody had expected them to win it.
I don't think anyone could be criticised for doubting City before the game, however. How could anyone have predicted a victory on the back of their recent performances?
To beat a good Leicester side 3-2 was like a bolt from the blue – although I did say last week that City have this knack of upsetting the odds when they go into games as strong underdogs and I'm glad they've done it again. The players deserve plenty of credit for the shift they put in, but the question that you have to ask is this: How have the players believed they could get a result in this game, but yet played so poorly throughout the month of February?
It always amazes me that sometimes a player's back needs to be really up against the wall before you get a positive response. Securing that victory on Tuesday night served to widen the gap between City and the bottom three slightly – but the job is far from done and I'm sure Derek will be keen to stress that before Cardiff arrive at Ashton Gate on Saturday evening. Well done, lads – but the hard work starts now and your backs are still up against the wall.
It was interesting to hear talk of an email sent by Derek to try and encourage fans to come down to Ashon Gate and get behind the team on Tuesday night. It was a nice touch by the club and a good bit of forward thinking and the 12,000 that turned up created a fantastic atmosphere.
With that in mind, I don't think the game against Cardiff could come at a better time. The feel-good factor from Tuesday night should still remain and City are up against a Cardiff side of which a lot of games from their run to the Carling Cup final may be starting to catch up with them.
Malky Mackay's side also had a long trip away to Brighton on Wednesday night where they conceded a late goal to drop points.
Conceding goals at the death is never any good from a morale point of view, so that should also work in City's favour.
At the start of this week, you'd have probably looked at the fixture and made Cardiff overwhelming favourites – but I'd say the events of the last few days for both clubs make it a far more even game now.
It will be interesting to see whether or not we'll see young Joe Bryan again on Saturday evening? His selection will have come as a surprise to everyone and credit must go to Derek for what was a very brave decision in the circumstances.
He's obviously impressed Derek in training and young players like him can sometimes go out and enjoy themselves on their debuts as they are untarnished by results and performances of the side in previous weeks. As a manager it can sometimes offer a freshness and an enthusiasm to a group that have been suffering from a crisis of confidence. More often than not, as a manager, you like to introduce the young ones towards the end of the season when there is little left to play.
There is always the risk that things can backfire when youngsters are put into pressure situations, so I'm glad Joe has come through his first test at such a young age and well done to Derek, too, for making the call.
I really do think Derek has the potential to be a really fantastic manager for Bristol City if he can just get through this little sticky patch to give himself a chance of really shaping things to his liking over the summer.
Rovers, meanwhile, have already got themselves an excellent manager in Mark McGhee, so much so that I was backing them to go on a bit of a run and stake a late claim for a play-off place last week.
I was pretty surprised then, that they managed to pick up only one point from games against Macclesfield and Northampton this week. I'm sure anyone associated with Rovers who had any hopes of making a late play-off surge would have earmarked those two games – the first in a run of eight before the start of April – as ones in which to claim two of the five wins they'd probably need from the eight games to have any chance.
I wouldn't totally rule them out – but we're probably looking at trying to win five of the six remaining games and drawing one. A tough ask when that run includes games against the likes of Swindon, Torquay and Southend.
It was interesting to note that Mark felt the performance of his side in the goalless draw against Macclesfield on Saturday was not too bad. Had it not been for a combination of the Macclesfield goalkeeper and the Memorial Stadium pitch, then Rovers would probably have gone on to win the game, the manager said.
There's not much Mark can do about the Macclesfield goalkeeper – but I'm sure he'll be going to the board and trying to persuade them that the surface at the Memorial Stadium needs to be a lot better next season or it could hinder their chances of making a challenge.
It's a long-standing problem for Rovers because rugby is also played at the ground – but other clubs find a way to manage dual-usage and a solution has to be found.
I can tell you that any side turning up at the Memorial Stadium will be delighted when they see the state of the pitch. Those sort of conditions will favour any team coming to bite and scratch their way to a result.
Some investment may be required to improve the situation – but failing to win promotion could be more costly, so the board have to do everything in their power to give Mark the best opportunity to achieve it.
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