Steve Coppell has declared himself 90 per cent happy with Bristol City's trip to Sweden, even though he admitted the games were in the wrong order. The new manager saw his side thrash Vallens 11-1 on Saturday and revealed he wanted to play the lower league side first and top-flight outfits Gothenburg and Helsingborgs second. City drew 1-1 with Gothenburg but lost 4-0 to Helsingborgs. Against Vallens, John Akinde grabbed a hat-trick, while there were braces for Dave Clarkson and Ivan Sproule, and trialist John O'Flynn. Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Marlon Jackson and Albert Adomah were also on target. Coppell said: "It wasn't what I wanted originally with the hard games first. I would have preferred to have this game first. Psychologically, it is not good for us, but it gave us a little bit of a wake-up call."
Bristol Evening Post
Paul Hartley was last night on the brink of sealing a return to Hearts, but the Tynecastle club's move to sign Kilmarnock captain Craig Bryson looks set to be put on hold for now after the two clubs were unable to agree on a fee. Both midfielders have been on manager Jim Jefferies' radar for some time now, but it is the pursuit of the 33-year-old Hartley, who was desperate to return north after spending last season with Bristol City, which looks like being concluded successfully after a series of promising talks between club and player.
The Scotsman
Bristol City closed their mini tour of Sweden with a crushing 11-1 demolition of Vallens IF on Saturday afternoon.
Teamtalk
