Bristol City weren’t perfect against Millwall, but they didn’t need to be. Nigel Pearson needed a reaction from his squad and he got one, not through blood and thunder or exhilarating open and attacking football but with organisation, discipline and professionalism, the sort of pillars he’s based a lot of his managerial career on.
The way a team defends can often reveal a lot about a squad’s mindset as to be a consistently resolute side it requires constant focus and concentration, which can only be achieved if everyone is on message.
Of course, a strong argument can be made that for much of this season, and even last term, the opposite has occurred, with City shipping goals at an alarming rate, whoever being assigned to play in defence almost doomed to commit a horrendous unforced error at some point.
