Bristol City boss Lee Johnson has slammed his side for the lack of identity they displayed during their 1-0 defeat to second-placed Leeds on Saturday afternoon.

The Robins were looking to give their promotion hopes a real boost by sealing their sixth victory in seven games when they travelled to Elland Road, but they fell to defeat courtesy of Luke Ayling's first-half effort against his former club.

The result means City failed to make ground in their race for promotion from the Championship, but Johnson's side are still sitting level on points with sixth-placed Preston, while they are only six points shy of Leeds in the automatic promotion spots.

Speaking to Bristol Live, Johnson has now emphasised his disappointment at his side's display against Marcelo Bielsa's side, while he then went on to explain how he felt "bugged" by the lack of team identity shown by the Robins in the clash.

"I was disappointed," he said.

"I didn’t feel we showed anywhere near enough of our identity. It bugged me to be honest."

City will now be looking to make a real statement of intent in their promotion bid when they welcome league leaders West Brom to Ashton Gate over the weekend, with a victory potentially taking Johnson's side up to fourth in the second-tier table.

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The Verdict

Johnson has every reason to be disappointed with his side's performance against Leeds, particularly given Bielsa's side were not in the best run of form heading into the match, and the least Johnson would have wanted was a solid display from his side.

This would have made the defeat even more frustrating for their manager, with the that fact former City man Ayling scored the decisive goal in the game only serving to rub salt in the Robins' aching wounds.

It is now important that City overcome this setback and regain their confidence ahead of the clash with West Brom over the weekend, as a positive result against the Baggies could give Johnson's side a huge psychological boost ahead of the final run-in.