Nigel Pearson believes Bristol City have made important strides this season in eradicating an Achilles heel that has hampered their progress during his tenure, but there's still plenty of room for improvement.
Similarly to the 2-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, the Robins enjoyed dominant periods of play against Sheffield United but failed to turn their opportunities into clear-cut chances. They registered one strike on target despite working the ball into dangerous crossing positions.
The hosts, while second best for extended periods, improved their performance following the break and found a way through City's backline when Iliman Ndiaye played through substitute James McAtee. Defeat was cruel on the Robins but it felt a measure of where Pearson's side are at the moment.
They have proven they can mix it with the league's top sides having been on the receiving end of narrow defeats at Norwich and Burnley earlier in the season. They also dominated the reverse fixture against Sheffield United but left Ashton Gate empty-handed.
The Blades' victory last night lifted them eight points clear of Luton in third and on course for promotion, albeit the Hatters have a game advantage. Pearson acknowledged Paul Heckingbottom's side were far from their best but they found a way to win, something his side needs to improve looking forward.
"Whoever gets success, it's not luck or coincidence, it's because they have something that allows them to get results," Pearson said after the game.
"In the same way that our Achilles heel for a while has been playing well in games and I'm not talking about this season, I'm talking about the club over quite a long period of time, can sometimes play very well but don't find a way of winning those games.
"At the minute, we've made a lot of progress on that this season but the last two games - I thought Saturday we were excellent and keeper's made some great saves - tonight (Tuesday) we were in the ascendency but couldn't drive that into a winning position."
The 50 goals City have scored this season ranks them 13th in the Championship but there's little doubt Pearson's side are still lacking that killer instinct in front of goal. During the first 26 league games of the season, when they were playing with a back three, the Robins were averaging 1.23 goals per match.
Since the switch to a back four, in the 4-2 victory over Birmingham in January, that average has dropped to 1.05 goals. There are certain variables that have to be taken into consideration of course, such as the sale of Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth and injuries, including that of Tommy Conway and Kal Naismith who has been influential with his progressive passes and danger from set-pieces.
The January arrivals of Anis Mehmeti and Harry Cornick mean Pearson does have a healthy array of options going forward but they also take time to adapt to new surroundings.
Asked if there is a lack of cutting-edge in attack, Pearson responded: "It would suggest so, in the fact we've created some really good opportunities in the last two games and not scored.
"But, like I say, we do create chances and I was always confident that we'll score but we've just had a couple of blanks haven't we in the last two games which is disappointing.
"You're looking at two games together and the standard of opponents we've played, there's a lot for us to be optimistic about but optimism doesn't equate to success. You've got to go and push the boundaries a little further."
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