Gary Johnson says his Crystal Palace counterpart Neil Warnock has done a great job in motivating his players ahead of tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship play-off semi-final second leg at Ashton Gate.
City lead 2-1 from the first encounter on Saturday, when they were accused of dirty tactics, dangerous tackles and over-celebrating by the Eagles chief.
TV: Gary Johnson press conference
Speaking at today's pre-match media conference, Gary said: "Neil likes to hog the headlines if they get beat and he's usually moaning at something.
"Our lads didn't celebrate the win of the game, they celebrated the goal because of its timing. We're still in a very big game here and we know we haven't won it yet.
"The only sending-off was Shaun Derry's tackle on Nick Carle. If Neil was moaning there should have been a red card then I agree, but it should have been Derry going off the pitch.
"We went there to compete and we did it within the rules of the game. Crystal Palace went out there to compete in the same way.
"Neil's very good at motivating his players, but all he's doing at the moment is motivating our players."
The manager has revealed he has a clean bill of health in the squad ahead of the big second leg game.
Lee Johnson has now recovered completely from a foot injury and "could play 90 minutes" if required.
Steve Brooker is also available for selection, said the City chief.
The match kicks off at 7.45pm tomorrow.
