Bristol City are now 14 games into Nigel Pearson’s first full season as manager and it has been an up and down start to the campaign for them at this stage.

Pearson took over as manager on a short-term deal in February as the Robins aimed to find the right long-term appointment to replace Dean Holden at Ashton Gate.

The experienced manager was eventually handed the job on a more permanent basis towards the end of April with him signing a three-year deal.

That ensured that Pearson would be the man to lead Bristol City into a major summer rebuild in terms of their squad and into this season.

There are things that Pearson has done so far at Ashton Gate that have worked out well and have shown signs that he can take the club in the direction.

However, there are other issues that have emerged for the Robins during the start of the season and in his tenure so far that need to be addressed if Pearson is to achieve the club’s long-term goals.

With all of that in mind, we take a look at how it has gone so far for Pearson, what issues he faces at Ashton Gate and also what could be next…

How has it gone so far?

Indifferent would probably be the most apt description of Pearson’s tenure at Bristol City so far.

Things started well for him at Bristol City with the Robins managing to secure back-to-back 3-1 wins away from home at Middlesbrough and Swansea City in his first two matches.

However, from that point, it was downhill for the Robins in the end-of-season run-in last term with them managing to pick up just one more win from their final 13 matches of the campaign.

That run included nine defeats and it was fortunate for Pearson in some respects that he was able to convince Bristol City’s hierarchy to hand him the chance to lead them forwards on a longer-term deal.

It seemed that there was a real appetite at Bristol City to back Pearson and give him the chance to rebuild the squad in the summer given the amount of players that were out of contract.

A rebuild did follow in the summer and a number of important squad players from the last few years exited Ashton Gate on free transfers.

While the Robins managed to bring in the likes of Matty James, Andy King, George Tanner and Rob Atkinson.

Bristol City have managed to enjoy a pretty strong record on their travels so far this season with the Robins picking up four wins against Reading, Cardiff City, QPR and Peterborough United.

However, the Robins have yet to win a game at home this season in the championship and indeed at all during Pearson’s tenure in charge up to this point.

At the moment, Bristol City are sat in 17th place in the table with them five points adrift of the play-offs and seven points clear of the relegation zone.

That perhaps reflects the job he has done to date at Ashton Gate with them on course for a midtable finish this term.

 

 

What issues does he face?

The biggest issue that Pearson is facing at Bristol City so far is the Robins’ dismal record at Ashton Gate under his management.

Pearson failed to secure a Championship win at home in his seven home games towards the end of last season and that run has been extended even further this term.

The Robins have failed to win any of their opening seven home league games this time around to stretch the run to 14 winless matches.

Bristol City were 1-0 ahead against Nottingham Forest in their last home league game heading into stoppage time. However, they somehow contrived to concede not just once but twice to end up on the losing side of the game.

There have also been other games this season where Bristol City really should have seen out the game and secured all three points at home to end their winless run, but again all of those times they failed to do enough to get over the line.

Pearson has recently spoken to the media regarding the Robins’ poor home record and has taken full responsibility for that run of form.

You feel for him to have any chance of achieving success in the long-term he has to start getting wins at Ashton Gate.

What’s next?

Pearson will get the chance to end Bristol City’s terrible record at home in the Championship next weekend when they take on a struggling Barnsley side who suffered another defeat against Sheffield United on Sunday.

The pressure will be on the Robins in that fixture to make sure that they earn all three points.

If they could do that then it would take a lot of pressure off Pearson’s side and then they can start to try and get into a more positive run of form to climb up the table.

At the moment, Bristol City’s season could very much go in either direction. A few more wins in a row could move them up the table and close the gap on the top-six, but a run of defeats could also see them slide closer towards the relegation zone.