We must respond with a performance – Pearson

MILLWALL goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski may have saved Nigel Pearson his pre-match motivational talk to his Bristol City squad ahead of facing Brentford.

The Lions stopper gave a strong critique of the Robins following the London club’s 4-1 defeat of the West Country outfit last weekend, saying: “Bristol City were gone, they looked like they wanted to go on holidays already. They didn’t care. I think they were the worst team we’ve played against this season”.

Many City supporters agreed with the sentiment, with the Robins on a dreadful run of one win in their last ten Sky Bet Championship games.

City boss Pearson believes his team have to take the punches, given their predicament. The Robins are safe for the season, but can end the 2020/21 campaign on a high note if they can grab victory against the high-flying Bees today – and prove people wrong at the same time.

“It was impossible to not be aware of this story,” Pearson admitted when asked about the comments from the Millwall number one.

“I said to the players that it’s like the school bully giving you the Chinese burn when you’re not expecting it. We have to take it.

“Our comeback to that has to be how we play this week. People have their opinions on it. It’s a difficult observation to take on board.

“The worst thing about it all is the added comment that we have good players.

“I think that puts some context on how other people see us. We have to do something about it.”

City will be looking for a first home win since beating Huddersfield 2-1 on January 26. The Robins have since lost nine of the last ten home games, setting a club record for the most consecutive League defeats. Their final game is against the division’s leading goalscorers.

“What we can’t do is go into the game with the same application as last week,” said Pearson. “It’s our final opportunity to have a game in which we’re pleased with ourselves.”

Rogan Thomson/JMP > Bristol City, red and white, were thrashed at Millwall last weekend