Gary Johnson admitted his City team had suffered an off-night after the shock 3-2 defeat by Bradford City at Ashton Gate.

The manager offered no excuses for the result and had no argument that the better side won following a bitterly disappointing second half effort by his side.

He told Bristol City World: "The equalising goal just before half time shouldn't have knocked the stuffing out of us, but it seemed to. Our quality wasn't there in the second half and we didn't create enough clear chances.

"It was a bad night at the office. People had been adding three points onto our total and talking about a seven-point cushion, but it is never as easy as that and maybe it was part of the problem.

"I was pleased with the start we made and again we were rewarded with an early goal. We needed the second while we were on top because at 1-0 you are always vulnerable to a Roy of the Rovers strike, which is what their equaliser was.

"You have to give credit to their lad for being prepared to shoot from so far out. And I also credit them for going up against us man for man and getting their attacking game going better than we did as the game wore on.

"The second and third goals both have to go down as mistakes because the second has stemmed from our own corner and we got caught on the break, while Adriano Basso has held his hand up over the third.

"At 2-1 down you always feel you are in with a chance, but the third goal was a killer for us. Goalkeepers always pay dearly for their mistakes and no one is blaming Adriano because he makes less errors than most.

"It is a blip, but we are still in a great position and we have to lift ourselves quickly. We still have that four-point cushion and our destiny remains in our own hands.

"As always, we will dissect this performance by watching the video and learn from our mistakes. The group of players here have shown themselves able to do that before and they will come again."