'Fine details' - Bristol City defender Ross McCrorie pinpoints vital promotion push factor

Bristol City defender Ross McCrorie insists that the Robins have what it takes to maintain their promotion challenge ahead of a crunch clash in the race for the Premier League.

And the Scotland international believes that the Aston Gate club can maintain their push for one of the four play-offs places - but only if they manage to bring more consistency to their games.

McCrorie made the admission as City prepare to welcome fellow promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers to the West Country on Saturday when they will be aiming to get back to winning ways after three matches without victory.

But the former Rangers player and his City colleagues should go into the contest in buoyant mood thanks to his late leveller which earned the Robins a potentially precious point in a 2-2 midweek draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

And the Robins will be out to repeat last season’s performance over Blackburn at Ashton Gate when McCrorie helped the hosts to a resounding 5-0 win, as braces from Tommy Conway and Nahki Wells plus an Anis Mehmeti strike earned the West Country side their most resounding victory of the season.

Home comforts

“We've got a really determined group here,” McCrorie said ahead of the clash with John Eustace’s sixth-placed side who are three places ahead of City in the Championship table. "And I look at the squad and I look at the bench and the depth we've got there and I can see that it's a really talented bunch.

“But it's up to us. We need to get that consistency and stop with the inconsistent performances because if we want to be up there challenging at the end of the season, it is something that we have got to improve on.

“We have got really good form at home and we are lucky that our fans are brilliant and they always give us really great backing as well at Ashton Gate. We have got a top team, top-quality players in that squad and it's now all about putting the fine details together and seeing where that takes us until the end of the season."

McCrorie, whose time at City has been blighted by injury, was finally able to celebrate scoring his first goal in City colours since moving to Bristol from Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen in June 2023 when he headed in the equaliser in South Yorkshire but it was a bittersweet result at Hillsborough.

Mixed emotions

"In the first half I thought there were a few small details we had to pick up on, we didn't quite get the physical battle right,” the 26-year-old said. " But in the second half, we probably had what I would say was more belief in ourselves, we attacked a lot more and we got down their throat and managed to pin them in their box.

"But conceding two goals away from home is not what we want, especially when we score two goals so it's something we need to look at and pick up on. The second half was top but it’s still disappointing that we didn't come back with three points but I think we've just got to take confidence especially from that second-half performance.

“On a personal note, it was a proud moment for myself getting my first City goal, but I won't be dwelling on it too much. We've got a big game this weekend so it was a case of getting home, recovering and going again.”

City manager Liam Manning had inspired his team to three Championship games on the spin at Ashton Gate before losing at home to Wolves in the FA Cup and but they will be out to invigorate their play-off challenge having lost ground on the top six in a 1-0 last weekend at Coventry City before gaining a point against Wednesday.