Bristol City defender Nathan Baker has said that he relishes the competition for places in defence at the club, adding that every player is "learning off each other."

Ahead of the important clash against Nottingham Forest at Ashton Gate where Baker could make his 100th Robins appearance, the 28-year-old centre back says that having a mixture of youth and experience helps the team.

Baker has featured 13 times in the Championship for The Robins this season, and has partnered Taylor Moore, Tomas Kalas and Ashley Williams at centre-back - showing the squad depth that the side from BS3 has.

In an interview with the club website, Baker said he is happy at the competition amongst the defenders as it keeps everyone motivated to stay at the top of their game.

"It’s nice to have the competition with strength in defenders we have. It’s really to have that healthy competition with Ashley [Williams] coming in, Tomas Kalas returning from injury and Taylor [Moore].

It keeps you on your toes and keeps us pushing for that place [in the team]," Baker said.

More importantly, Baker says the competition enables each player to learn from one another.

"We always help each other as much as possible. You have Taylor who has come through, he’s young, and Ashley has had an amazing career with bags of experience that he can pass on as well."

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The Verdict

It has helped that Lee Johnson has varied the formation of his side a number of times this season, which has meant all the centre-backs at the club have got their chance.

What Baker's comments show is that there is a feel-good factor in the dressing room at present, which can only help the side on the pitch.