City's chastened players are facing a test of character which will almost certainly define their season and, in some cases, their Ashton Gate futures. As severe as it was unexpected, this shocking setback at the hands of one of the Championship's more unfashionable sides serves to throw the immediate future into uncomfortably sharp focus. Given that nine teams are still looking up at the Robins, who are five points clear of third-from-bottom Sheffield Wednesday, there is no immediate cause for panic. But that situation could change dramatically by the end of a demanding month which requires Gary Johnson's men to play a further six times. A confidence-sapping home defeat on such a scale is hardly ideal preparation for a sequence of three consecutive fixtures on the road in the space of eight days against fellow strugglers Crystal Palace, Reading and Plymouth Argyle. Quite simply, unless City improve on their modest away record, they could find themselves mired in a full-scale relegation battle by the time the Newcastle United promotion bandwagon rolls into to Bristol 13 days from now.
Bristol Evening Post
Bristol City boss Gary Johnson is redoubling his efforts to bring in at least one defender ahead of this month's deadline for loan signings. There are unlikely to be any new faces before tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, but Johnson admits he needs to bolster his injury-hit squad sooner rather than later. City's players are still reeling from Saturday's shock 5-2 home defeat at the hands of Doncaster and the manager is working overtime to recruit a centre-back and a left-back to shore up a creaking defence and stave off a potential relegation battle. Conceding his players had been "all over the place" and the team "very poor", Johnson revealed the lengths he has already gone to in his search for much-needed defensive cover. He said: "We've made some enquiries and spoken to quite a few clubs about players and we are now waiting for them to come back to us. We definitely need a big centre-half and we could probably do with a left-back as well."
Bristol Evening Post
Bristol City manager Gary Johnson admitted his side "were at sixes and sevens" after watching them crash 5-2 at home to Doncaster. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, on loan from Arsenal, was on the scoresheet twice for Rovers, as was Billy Sharp, while Bradley Orr scored the City goals before rounding off the scoring with an own-goal. Johnson said: "We were at sixes and sevens from the start and although we hit back twice, the game was lost in the first 20 minutes."
Yahoo Eurosport
HE is JET to his new Doncaster team mates. And on Saturday Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, 19 and 6ft 3in of languid, loping talent, was the Hair-Oh turned hero. With his long hair scrunched into a ball at the back, the Arsenal loanee marked his first Rovers start by scoring twice in the first half. Fellow loanee Billy Sharp and City full-back Bradley Orr joined in the early goalfest. Emmanuel-Thomas acknowledged the guidance and advice he gets at the Emirates from ex-England veteran Sol Campbell. The England Under-21 star said: "Sol is my hero. He's always emphasising to me how important it is not just to play well but to conduct myself well on and off the pitch. He talks so much common sense."
The Sun
