Nigel Pearson says Rob Atkinson has fallen down the pecking order at Bristol City and tasked the centre-back to "be more enthusiastic" after he was left out of the squad in the defeat against Stoke.
The 24-year-old travelled with the rest of his club team-mates but sat in the stands with the manager opting for a defensive central trio of Zak Vyner, Andy King and Kal Naismith with George Tanner on the bench.
City were on the receiving end of two defensive errors that proved costly, with question marks over King's involvement for the first. He failed to deal with a punt in the box under the pressure of Tyrese Campbell with the ball ricocheting off his back and into the path of Liam Delap who fired home.
For the second goal, King and Matty James were unable to clear a cross that landed at the feet of Jacob Brown to rifle in the winner. After the game, Pearson bemoaned the reoccurring theme of soft goals as they once again dropped points from a winning position.
But a lot of the talk boiled down to Atkinson's absence and the reasoning behind it. He missed three matches before the World Cup break with illness but returned to the bench in the draw against Watford and the victory over Rotherham.
When asked about his position in the side at the moment, Pearson said: "Well, he wasn’t in the side today. No, not a tactical decision. Other players are ahead of him."
When further questioned on what he needs to do to work his way back into contention, the manager added: "Be more enthusiastic and work harder. Pretty normal isn’t it for any player? Any player that doesn’t make the bench, we either do it tactically but there are players that are ahead of him."
Pearson's comments to BBC Radio Bristol after the game were also a damning indictment of Atkinson's position in his plans at the moment. He said: "The fact I’m picking a midfield player ahead of centre-backs tells you how I view the squad at the moment.
"Make of that what you will. I don't care. It's a lot about trust. Kingy gives us everything that he can. The players that aren't in the side at the moment, you need to start asking different questions because you're not asking the right questions."
Pearson was then asked why Atkinson wasn't in the squad today to which he responded: "Because other players are ahead of him. Simple as that. There you go. It's in terms of trust, as it is with every other player.
"I don't make excuses all I'll say is I'll pick what I think is the best side based on what we have. If players aren't selected, it's their fault, not mine."
Following the defeat against Sheffield United in November, Pearson said that his side will continue to concede soft goals until they manage to reinforce the defence.
When asked whether today was further evidence of the necessity to bring in a new defender, he responded: "That's for you to talk about. I'm not going to talk about that in a press conference. That's for you to discuss, not me. You should read into what happened today and who played. Simple as that."
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