Bristol City chairman Steve Lansdown insists there will be no knee-jerk reaction to Tuesday night's 6-0 Coca-Cola Championship mauling at the hands of Cardiff.

Some fans, angry and frustrated by their team's capitulation, are calling for manager Gary Johnson to go.

But Lansdown has sought to steady the Ashton Gate ship and place the emphasis on remedying a difficult situation rather than apportioning blame.

Although City's chairman shares the fans' hurt, he is refusing to cave in to demands for the manager to be sacked and is backing Johnson to put things right.

Lansdown and Johnson spent nearly half an hour together in the manager's office at Ashton Gate after Tuesday's game, discussing how best to put City's season back on track.

And Lansdown has challenged the players to show they "have the bottle for the fight that lies ahead".

He said: "Nothing has changed. The football club is still in a healthy state, the players have not become bad players overnight and the manager has not suddenly become a poor manager.

"We are all hurting and feeling low, because it was at home and against Cardiff. But losing three points is not the end of the world.

"If people think losing a game of football 6-0 is the worst thing that can happen in life, then things cannot be that bad.

"There is always a reaction when things like this happen and there is always pressure after a shocking result and performance. But the watchword has to be stability.

"We have a long-term plan to take this club forward in the future and we're not going to panic just because of one bad result.

"We've all seen what has happened at other clubs in the Championship and there will be no knee-jerk reactions here."

Lansdown is urging the players to demonstrate strength of character when they return to action against Middlesbrough at the Riverside tomorrow. He said: "We have to work out how we take this forward and get back on track at Middlesbrough. Cardiff could have scored more than six and our lads didn't seem to have the bottle for it once they had conceded the second goal.

"You come away thinking 'how has that happened?' I haven't got a clue how it's happened other than on the night the players didn't come up to scratch. They have to decide whether they've got the bottle for the fight ahead.

"We've got a good squad here, let's not kid ourselves. We know they are good players, but they didn't perform. In the last game at Ashton Gate, against Preston, they performed extremely well so what is the difference?

"Maybe Cardiff have the sign on us. The likes of (Jay) Bothroyd and (Michael) Chopra have played exceptionally well against us, backed up by (Joe) Ledley and (Peter) Whittingham in midfield.

"Perhaps they're just too good for us at this moment in time. Perhaps we need to accept that and focus on Middlesbrough and the other teams in the division.

"We're not having a great season but we're not having a bad season. There's plenty to go for – we've got to get out there and do it. We've got some good players, some good young players and we need to use that resource to get results going again."

Lansdown said he understands the fans' anger and frustration, but he stopped short of offering an apology.

He said: "I can't say anything that will appease the supporters. I can apologise but I don't feel I need to do that.

"This football club has done a lot in the last few years and one bad result doesn't undo all that.

"We all must stick together. It's hard to take but sometimes it makes you stronger. We must let this make us stronger and work on this.

"The last time this happened was the Swansea game (City lost 7-1 at the Liberty Stadium in September 2005) and look what we've done since then. We've got to turn it around on the same basis.

"We're not going to let this happen to us again. This is a horrible feeling and I don't want to experience it again."