The debrief: West Bromwich Albion (A)

Below is a summary of what he had to say in the post-match press conference.

• City had two good chances early in the game and Johnson didn’t feel they deserved to be 3-0 down
• The boss stressed it was a new team with “seven or eight coming up against former Premier League opposition with God knows how many appearances under their belt.”
• Johnson gave West Bromwich Albion credit for being “too slick in the transition” with some “quality counter-attack and some poor defending” costing his side
• He was not going to “take anything away from West Brom - they won the game effectively in the first half hour.”
• The boss added that there was “some excellent play" with City "finishing the game stronger and creating a lot of chances.”
• The head coach felt his side should have been awarded a penalty after Andi Weimann was “dragged down as the cross came in”
• Johnson added that he “fired into a few at half-time” saying he wanted to see whether some of the new players could react to disappointment and whether they would hide or be brave enough to go and play our game.”
• The key now was to “keep the mood and the spirit high” as they head North to face Wigan Athletic on Friday