Football We must try to stay mentally fresh, says head coach Holden

DEAN Holden says it’s important to keep his Bristol City squad mentally prepared and ready to go during a relentless period of matches.

That’s keeping the mind fresh and focused on the next game, regardless of winning form or needing to bounce back from defeat, as is the case when Holden’s team face Blackburn Rovers at Ashton Gate tonight (7.45pm).

City were beaten 1-0 by Birmingham on Saturday, in a game of few chances at Ashton Gate.

Now the Robins look for a response against an in-form Blackburn side who sit one place behind City in ninth and separated by just two points. “What we have to do is stay fresh in our minds, we have smiles on our faces, we’ve trained on beautiful days on the grass – we’re back to work,” head coach Holden, pictured, told Robins TV. “Preparations have been good. We know what the schedule and the division is like, there’s games every three days so you can’t dwell on a defeat, dwell on a bad performance or get too high when you win. So full preparation and focus has been on this next game against Blackburn.

“It’ll be a tough game for us, another home game we want to get a positive result in to keep in touch with the top two.

“We have to respond. The message is always about the next one, responding to a bad result with a win in the next one and that’s what we’re aiming to do.”

» This report first appeared on www.bcfc. co.uk.

Former Bristol City defender Derrick Williams may make return from injury against Robins tonight - Page 37.