Bristol City missed the chance to secure a first win in four Championship matches as they were well-beaten by Carlos Corberan and West Brom this weekend.
A brace from Mikey Johnston ensured that all three points would remain in the Black Country. The Baggies winger first headed past Max O’Leary before curling into the top right corner in the final stages of the first half to secure a 2-0 win for Albion.
While City saw a reasonable amount of possession, they were unable to truly test Alex Palmer in the West Brom net. Luke McNally and Fally Mayulu were the only two players to force saves from the Baggies stopper.
Sunday afternoon’s defeat leaves the Robins sitting 12th in the Championship table, eight points adrift of the play-off places and nine clear of the relegation zone as we approach the halfway point of the campaign.
Here is a full transcript of every word Liam Manning said to the written press in his post-match press conference at The Hawthorns…
Liam that’s got to be frustrating for completely different reasons to last weekend?
Yeah, last weekend the performance was good and we didn’t get the result I felt that we probably deserved. Whereas today the better team definitely won. They were better than us. Breaking the game down, in the first half I thought we were a little passive and at times caught between pressing and blocking.
When we did get it right, I thought we let them out of spaces and areas a little too easily and then we gave away a couple of really soft goals, for me.
You probably won’t concede many goals softer than that this season, it felt so easy for them to get into those areas.
Yeah, that’s the problem when you disconnect a little bit. Quite a few were from counterattacks, I thought, where we had a passage where we actually got a hold of the ball for ten minutes and then when we turned it over, they went really quickly from the edge of their box to our box, which was a structural thing but also the manner of the turnover and the type of turnover.
There are things we have to do better and first and foremost I look at myself, I have to be better. I think that’s the big bit when you look at today across the board, all of us collectively have to be better.
The goal last weekend came from a counterattack as well, is that a concern for you?
I think it’s definitely something we look at, I think that’s the whole point of having a structure, that you’re able to control spaces. But then especially against good sides, you’ve got to maintain a really high level of focus and not turn the ball over cheaply.
The throw-in is a disappointing one. We switch off and before you know it it’s in the back of our net. Same as the second one, we’re attacking trying to win a free kick high and before you know it we’re two down. Especially against them, they’re so well organised defensively, it’s a tough place to come as they don’t give up many chances so what you have to do is stay in the game as long as possible, and we didn’t do that.
Last week we spoke about the fact you created loads but couldn’t take the chances, this week that wasn’t the case.
No, we lacked that I thought. Credit to them for how they defended, but also yeah, I thought we didn’t get into areas well enough. There were a few times in the first half that I thought we found Birdy quite well in the pocket but when we then played wide or came back out, we didn’t then work hard enough to keep it in there and to get into areas where we could hurt them. So it was disappointing from that perspective.
You made the change at half-time, do you think that you got the result you wanted bringing Ross McCrorie on?
Yeah, I thought we managed to get pressure a little bit higher. I thought Ross brought energy, intensity and aggression, which I thought we lacked a little bit first half. So we definitely got that and we played a little bit higher. But understandably the lads then wanted to show a reaction by chasing and instead of doing it collectively and at the right time, we disconnected a little bit and started chasing in ones and twos rather than as a group.
Like I said you then end up getting picked off and played through. We have to respond on Boxing Day. I think that’s the biggest bit.
You’ve said you only take each game at a time but that’s now one win in seven, is that a concern for you?
Yeah, we need to win more games, simple as that. I think there’s no hiding from that, we have to win more games. I’ve spoken too often about good performances and not results, but ultimately we’re in the results business.
I know we’re heading in the right direction, it’s a tough one today because it’s not the performance that any of us want to put in, but we have to start winning games. I think that’s the biggest bit. What you don’t want to do is drift or go too many without. I think that’s the biggest bit in this league. If you want to push on, you have to get consecutive results, and we haven’t done that yet.
Especially against another side challenging for the top six, does it concern you that the gap is getting bigger?
I don’t spend too much time looking at it, to be honest. All I can concentrate on is how we respond on Boxing Day. I think if I sit there and put all my energy into studying tables, I’ll take my mind off the important thing which is reflecting on what we didn’t get right today and what we need to do to get it right on Boxing Day.
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I wanted to touch on Fally Mayulu today, his first start since the Blackburn defeat. How do you think he got on?
I thought he was aggressive, I thought he was competitive, I thought he put himself about. Naturally, you need a few games to get up to speed, it’s not an easy one to come into. He had a decent strike second half too. Fally will be one where, like I’ve said, he’ll need a little bit of time, but he’s heading in the right direction.
You’ve mentioned working on his weaknesses, do you feel he is getting better each and every week?
Yeah, he is. I think that’s where I’m quite clear in what we’re trying to do at the club. We’re not in a position to go and sign the finished article and what we do is sign players that are going to improve and are going to get better. What we have to do is accelerate that so that we can win matches at the level.
But like I said, I see the potential in Fally, and I know what he can bring. It’s our job and his job to be continually working at it, and again I thought you saw that today. I thought his focus, his reactions, and some of his defensive work has got better and we have to keep pushing him and he has to keep pushing himself.
Finally, on Nahki Wells, we heard it was just a minor issue. Is he likely to be available on Boxing Day?
Yeah, it’s quite possible, I’ll have to see how he is tomorrow, but there’s a good chance he’ll be available on boxing day.