ADRIANO Basso has revealed how defeat at Sheffield United earlier this month served as a wake-up call for Bristol City.

Accustomed to almost undiluted success during a first season in the Coca-Cola Championship which culminated in an appearance in the Wembley play-off final, the Robins experienced the flip side of the coin when losing to pacesetters Birmingham City and Wolves in September.

A subsequent setback at Bramall Lane – the Blades cruised to a 3-0 win on October 4 – saw Gary Johnson's team drop below halfway in the table and heralded a period of introspection and self-examination during the two-week break for international matches.

Realising something was wrong, goalkeeper Basso and his team-mates sought to resolve their problems through a full and frank exchange of opinions.

What followed was a series of behind-closed-doors meetings during which players were encouraged to have their say and vent their true feelings.

Respecting the adage that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room, Basso declined to go into detail. But the Brazilian is more than happy to discuss the positive benefits of an environment in which freedom of expression is not only tolerated but openly encouraged.

Speaking after restorative victories over Norwich and Charlton, City's 33-year-old keeper revealed: "Something was going wrong and we had to wake up.

"The only way to put it right was to talk about it among ourselves. There were things that had to be said. Everyone had their say and it cleared the air.

"We knew that we were the only ones who could do the job on the pitch and we decided we all had to take responsibility."

Rather than keeping personal grievances to themselves, City's players were invited to air their views and offer individual opinions on why results and performances had dipped.

Basso insists verbal communication was crucial in effecting a revival in fortunes.

He explained: "You cannot ignore things when they are going wrong or they will continue to go wrong. You have to talk about these things.

"We met together to sort everything out and are ready to leave the problems behind us. You have to concentrate on the positive things that make you a good team and that means everybody taking responsibility.

"We did that and that's the reason the results have started to come again. Now we need to continue doing that."

By talking their way through their problems, Basso says he and his teammates were able to rediscover the winning formula which had served them so well during the last two seasons. He reasoned: "When an individual player makes a mistake, it is the whole team that suffers.

"You don't blame the player, but take collective responsibility and stay strong as a group. There cannot be success when it is one against another.

"We need to support one another when we make a mistake. That is the way to win games and titles."