Luke McNally is eyeing an FA Cup upset when Bristol City welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Ashton Gate for their third-round clash this weekend.
The defender made the move to the West Country on the final day of the summer transfer window, becoming the last addition to Liam Manning’s first-team squad in what proved to be a busy few months at the High-Performance Centre.
After a slow start in City colours, the centre-back has become an ever-present in the Robins’ starting line-up over the last few months, forming a solid defensive partnership with both Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner. Although that backline has fared well against Championship opposition, Saturday will see them face Wolves instead.
While McNally was on loan at Stoke City when the Reds managed to dump West Ham United out of the FA Cup and take Nottingham Forest to a replay under Manning last term, the 25-year-old is keen to repeat those heroics against Vitor Pereira’s side this weekend.
“It’s a great chance for the players to show that they can play at whatever level so we’ll be excited for that,” the defender told City’s media team after their win over Derby County.
“I know the fans enjoyed last season when they played West Ham and Nottingham Forest so hopefully, we can cause a bit of an upset.”
It’s safe to say McNally’s arrival was met with some scepticism from supporters, with sections of the City fanbase questioning whether or not another defensive recruit was what Manning’s side needed at that stage of the summer. But the centre-back has done his talking on the pitch and quickly become one of the most consistent performers in the Reds squad this term.
Primarily, it has been his work off of the ball that has caught the eye, however, the tall defender has demonstrated an eye for goal that has helped him climb to fourth in the Robins’ scoring charts for the season so far.
His first goal in City colours earned Manning’s Reds a point in the Severnside derby and his second helped them secure a 1-1 draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. However, his volley against Derby County proved to be the winner against Paul Warne’s side, much to McNally’s delight.
“No not really,” McNally said when asked if games got better than the win over the Rams. “We’re capping off a block of four games with 10 points, we could have had 12 but we’re happy today. We dug in and obviously, it’s physically quite tough to have this run of games but to win today was brilliant.
“It was tough. They threw kind of everything at us but we stood firm. I think we came out on top in a lot of duels and ultimately got us the win.
“I know I can score so delighted to score and help the team. Obviously, it’s nice when you score, win and get a clean sheet so all around I’m happy today.”
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Although McNally made the move to Burnley from Oxford United in the summer of 2022, he never quite managed to settle at Turf Moor. He spent a season on loan with Coventry City but only managed to make 22 appearances for the Sky Blues. While he was a more regular starter at Stoke last term, he did make his stay at the Bet365 Stadium permanent.
The 25-year-old did make two league appearances for Scott Parker’s Clarets at the start of the season, but it looked as though his minutes would be limited under the former England international, with his only start coming in the Carabao Cup.
Instead of sitting on the Burnley bench for the remainder of the campaign, McNally decided to make the move to the South West and that appears to have been the right call so far.
“I’m loving it. I love everything about the club really,” admitted the defender. “The gaffer’s been really good to me and all the lads have been brilliant.
“I’m loving it at the minute and long may it continue.”