Bristol City boss Gary Johnson says his promotion-chasing players must win more than half of their remaining games if they are to break into the Championship play-offs, writes Andy Stockhausen.

Beaten play-off finalists a year ago, the Robins are attempting to go one step further by reaching the Barclays Premier League.

City have eight games to play, starting with tomorrow's derby against Cardiff at Ashton Gate, and the manager believes his team must win at least five of them in order to be sure of a top-six finish.

He said: "I usually keep these things in-house but, on this occasion, I'm setting the lads a target and making it public.

"I've studied the table, looked at the fixtures and worked out that we need to win more than half our games if we're going to be involved in the play-offs.

"It's something we've spoken about and the players know what they have to do."

Seven of City's last eight matches are against teams in play-off contention and Johnson admits his players have it within their power to shape their destiny.

City still have to tackle Cardiff, Preston, Swansea, Burnley, QPR, Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday and Johnson declared: "I think it's a good thing that we play so many of the teams around us.

"These are real six-point gamesand they are the ones you have to win if you want to be in the shake-up at the end of the season. Every time you beat one of your main rivals, you put them three points further behind in the race and improve your own position massively."

Tomorrow's Anglo-Welsh clash comes into the "six-pointer" category and Johnson wants his team to heap the pressure on the Bluebirds.

He said: "Cardiff have a few games in hand on the rest of us and will still be thinking of themselves as a top-two side.

"They're moving into a new stadium next season and they want to be in the Premier League when that happens. That means they'll be feeling the pressure and we need to take advantage of that."

Johnson insists a good start is of paramount importance and reinforced the point by putting his first-team squad through a rigorous work-out on the club's Failand training ground yesterday.

He said: "With such a big game coming up at the weekend, the lads thought they were going to get a nice soft session.

"But instead of a short, easy session, they got something which was a bit of a shock to their systems.

"They had a really competitive work-out rather than a nice, polite five-and-a-side and it reminded them about our philosophy for this particular game.

"We have to start fast and try to score an early goal if we can. When we score the first goal, we tend not to lose.

"Everything else stems from that. If you score first, then you can relax and play without too much anxiety. I reminded the boys that they have to be up for this game, because Cardiff definitely will be."

Although Johnson is expected to name an unchanged side for the third consecutive match, he has more options available to him than for the home game against Coventry in midweek.

Midfielder Cole Skuse has shaken off the effects of an Achilles injury and is available for selection, while defender Izzy Iriekpen is back in contention after training with the senior squad yesterday.

Striker Dele Adebola has fully recovered from a hamstring strain but is expected to be kept in reserve on the bench.