Nigel Pearson believes Bristol City now have a team the supporters can be proud of as 23,000 fans helped roar them to a 1-0 victory over Norwich.
The Robins stretched their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions after Mark Sykes grabbed his fifth goal in six matches when his first-half strike squirmed under the arms of Angus Gunn. It was another dogged performance, built from the back as the hosts limited Norwich to just one shot on target.
It was a game of few chances but City were resolute at the back, driven by the superb performances of full-backs George Tanner and Cam Pring with the duo instrumental in the victory. The closest the visitors came was deep in the second half when Onel Hernandez's effort was deflected over his own crossbar by Andi Weimann.
Harry Cornick, making his home debut, could have settled the contest when he was played through but he delayed his strike allowing the defender crucial time to make an important block. City dropped deeper in the closing stages but the hosts never particularly looked like conceding which was credit to the collective effort of the team.
After the game, Pearson said: "We will come unstuck from time to time but as long as we get honest performances, as long as our work rate remains high and we aspire at least to achieve the standards that we set, I'll be relatively happy and I hope our fans will too.
"Our fans now have a team that I think we should be proud of. It's talented but it's also hardworking and the future looks bright for the club.
"The result is the most important thing but when you’re playing against some of the better sides you know that you’re not going to get lots of chances even though we could’ve extended it when Harry (Cornick) had his chance late on.
"We just had to work hard for it, but the thing that stands out for me again is the collective desire to keep the ball out of our net so just a really good all-round performance. They had some pressure and they made substitutes to try and put us under more threat, but again we worked hard to keep them out of the box and when they came in the box, we put them under pressure very quickly.
"So, it’s just basic defending, but basic defending isn’t always something that’s in abundance these days quite frankly."
Pearson also credited Tanner with having his best performance in a City shirt as he continues his impressive development in the first-team squad. “That was the best game he’s had for us, I think. He’s more accomplished now," the City manager added.
"He’s worked hard. He’s been here a year and a half now and he’s had a mixture of fortunes both in terms of his form and opportunities and injuries so he’s doing well.
"It takes time to get some players up to speed and George has always had the physical capabilities but he’s doing particularly well there now, which is great.”
The victory lifts City up to 13th in the league, seven points adrift of the play-offs. When the question about a potential top six push was put to Pearson, he responded: "I don't think about stuff like that, all I think about is trying to win the next game.
"Whether that's possible or not, who knows? We've created some momentum after a run of games that brought some criticism so we'll just have to keep our heads down and keep working. I never think of those terms anyway, it's about how we can get the most out of our players at any given time."
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