DELIGHTED Bristol City boss Derek McInnes described his team's 2-1 win over fellow npower Championship strugglers Doncaster Rovers as "a massive result" for the club.

City's second victory of the year in as many games at Ashton Gate lifted them seven points clear of Doncaster, who are now deep in trouble at the bottom of the table.

And the Robins have a six-point cushion between themselves and third-from-bottom Nottingham Forest.

McInnes dropped top-scorer Nicky Maynard to the bench and left him there for the full 90 minutes, starting the game with Chris Wood up front and later utilising fellow strikers Jon Stead and Brett Pitman as second-half substitutes.

City are yet to receive a single bid for the transfer-listed Maynard and McInnes insisted his decision to leave him out was based purely on form.

He said: "I'm not going to get dragged into a debate on this. I've played Nicky because he has trained and played well. I didn't think his performance was of the same calibre last week and he is the same as anyone else.

"I made four changes today and they were all solely to do with football reasons."

Dominant for the first hour and leading through goals from Wood and Kalifa Cisse, City made hard work of it in the last 20 minutes and El Hadji Diouf pulled a goal back to set-up a tense finale. But McInnes was keen to accentuate the positives after seeing his players keep their nerve to seal a crucial win.

"It was a bit closer than it should have been and we should have managed the game better in the second half," said the Scot. "That is something we will analyse with the players, but the overriding feeling is that it was a massive three points for us. It was all about getting the job done and this was a good day for Bristol City.

"There was a bit of frustration during the final 20 minutes of the game and we let ourselves down a bit. But there was a lot to be pleased about. It was all about result over performance today and we got the result we needed.

"I don't want to talk about the negative stuff when we have won what was a massive game. We said all along that this was a big week for us and the way the players approached it was spot on."

McInnes made four changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Brighton and City gave their best attacking display for some time.

He said: "I stressed the need for us to be more creative than in the last game against Brighton and I thought the players did that. We asked questions of Doncaster, we got shots on goal and worked their keeper and looked a threat.

"I thought they did everything asked of them in the first half and we deserved to be 2-0 up. We controlled the game and looked comfortable.

"I thought we looked a better side than Doncaster. Two goals should usually be enough at home and, thankfully, it was."

McInnes was full of praise for City man-of-the-match Yannick Bolasie, who made the most of only his second start this season.

"You can see why he is such a likeable boy, because he has an adventurous running style, is positive and plays with a smile on his face.

"He has oodles of ability and is a fantastic boy to work with. Yannick is one we feel has been busting to get a chance and he could possibly have got in to the team earlier, because his training has been at a good level.

"He came on with a bit to prove at Brighton the other week and gave us some drive and I felt he just carried that on against Doncaster. He can be pleased with his work."