Bristol City boss appeals to fans for help

BRISTOL City manager Gary Johnson today appealed to the club's loyal supporters to help his team recover from adversity.

Beaten 4-1 by Coca-Cola Championship promotion contenders Reading at the weekend, City's players face a major test of character when they return to action in Saturday's Sky-televised encounter with Southampton at St Mary's.

Johnson believes the fans have a crucial part to play in reviving fortunes on the pitch and issued an impassioned rallying call to the club's support base, urging diehard reds to rediscover the spirit of 2005.

Johnson wants fans to recreate the positive wave of support which accompanied his first few months in charge of City. Having succeeded Brian Tinnion three years ago, the Londoner presided over a wretched nine-match sequence without a win and feared for his job when City slipped to the foot of League One shortly before Christmas.

But the supporters remained loyal and helped the former Yeovil Town boss inspire a change in fortunes which saw the Robins narrowly miss out on the play-offs several months later.

"Those were difficult times for the club," recalled Johnson. "But those fans who came along week after week never stopped believing and, thanks to them, we turned things around and went on a long unbeaten run.

"We need that spirit again and that's why I was so grateful to those fans who kept singing right up until the end of the Reading game.

"Those are the people we really need now. They are the ones who remember where we've come from. They appreciate what this group of players has done for this football club and they haven't forgotten.

"They helped us overcome adversity before and they're support means we will bounce back again. God bless them, I'm proud of them."

But a small minority of the Ashton Gate crowd has proved less patient and individual players and the manager have come in for unaccustomed criticism at times this season.

Although the vast majority of fans did their best to lift the team on Saturday, others made their feelings known when greeting the second-half substitution of Lee Johnson, Ivan Sproule and Nicky Maynard with ironic cheers.

Johnson senior fears such criticism threatens the carefully-constructed team spirit which has played such a significant part in the club's rise from the depths of League One to the upper reaches of the Championship.

He warned: "If they're not careful, we are going to lose some of our players in terms of confidence.

"It could be a couple or it could be quite a few and, when that happens, it becomes dangerous."

City's manager issued a timely reminder to the critics when he said: "This group of players has done a fantastic job. I think some of our supporters have forgotten that.

"I don't know whether or not it's those who have recently jumped on the bandwagon and are used to seeing Bristol City win every week and being promoted.

"But they have to realise we're not going to win every game in the Championship and they can't expect us to be brilliant every week.

"Of course we're all disappointed when we don't play well, but people have to remember where we've come from."