City on a high after roller-coaster week

Tuesday, February 23rd 2021

Assistant Head Coach Keith Downing reflected on a roller-coaster seven days that saw City end their losing run in front of new manager Nigel Pearson.

The departure of Dean Holden and a seventh successive defeat has been followed by the appointment of Pearson and a 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough.

Famara Diédhiou’s double and Nahki Wells’ clinical finish helped fire City to three points at the Riverside Stadium on a back of a largely solid defensive display.

Downing told Robins TV: “We saw the shackles come off, we were more positive in terms of our football. It was nice to see three goals. We haven’t scored for a long, long time and we haven’t even created anything for a long, long time.”

WATCH KEITH DOWNING'S ROBINS TV INTERVIEW

Huge boost

It’s been a tough seven days. The loss of Dean was a blow to everyone at the club. He’s played a massive part in the last three or four years and it was a case of recovering from that. We were disappointed on Saturday and tonight was a huge boost for everybody; we deserved the win and it was great to see the new manager in giving a talk beforehand.

Impressive midfield

“I thought the midfield three of Tyreeq, Ádám and Kasey were excellent with their energy but also their inter-changing on the ball.”

Towler of strength

“We showed trust in selecting him. When you are a young 18-year-old and coming up against a Senagalese international at Watford (Ismaïla Sarr) – and he wasn’t alone in having a tough time, everybody did that afternoon – but the faith is there from the staff and it’s up to us to recognise when not to play to them. Riley justified his selection tonight and grew into the game well and he’ll be very proud of his performance.”

Giving everything - Zak Vyner lends a hand to fellow defender Tomas Kalas after a sterling effort

The Nahki and Famara partnership

“I thought we were worthy winners today and our football was really good, particularly in the first half and we scored some real quality goals.

"We put two up front today and Nahki and Famara were excellent, they played very well with each other and caused problems on the counter-attack. They showed composure with a good header and side-foot from Famara and then Nahki taking it round the keeper. We want more from them but it shows they have the ability to go and do it.

Nahki Wells celebrates City's third goal

Famara Diedhiou scored his 50th and 51st City goals

Looking forward

“The general team performance was far better than what we have seen. It does beg the question where has it been for the past six or seven weeks but tonight is proof that the team has the ability to go and do it.

“We’ve always had a good spirit here and it’s getting them to believe in themselves a bit more and have that confidence which is a huge part of the game.

“Now we have to look forward with Nigel in charge and it’s a huge boost for to have him at the helm. All the players have met him and the staff have had a conversation with him. Tomorrow (Thursday) he’ll settle himself in, I think there’ll be a staff meeting, and then we get to work again against Swansea on Saturday.

“There’s lots of work to do, we haven’t achieved anything. Finally the rot has been stopped and it’s something to take us forward into the remainder of the season. It’s really important that we finish strong, accumulate as many points as we can, and see where that takes us.”

City’s match at the Liberty Stadium will be streamed live on Robins TV, with the matchday show starting at 2.30pm.