Liam Manning on new-found Bristol City togetherness amid torrid run and Rob Dickie impact v Swansea City

Liam Manning says Bristol City's poor form has brought the team closer together after their scrappy 1-0 win against Swansea City on Sunday.

Rob Dickie's second-half header proved vital as the Robins ended their four-match winless run against Luke Williams' side.

The torrid run included losses against Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff City and Ipswich Town, but the manager believes the disappointing form has rejuvenated the squad's spirit.

"When you go through a tough experience like we have, what it does is bring you together, if you don’t use the tough times to reflect, learn and get better then you’re not going to improve," he said.

"I have to give credit to the lads for sticking together, believing in eachother, sticking to the plan and when we started to get some success, the anxiety began to disappear from the game you could see that quality."

It was far from a pretty display, the Swans boasted 72% possession at the break, while the hosts had failed to register an effort on goal.

However, Manning's side showed excellent grit and determination to grind out the victory.

"You were never going to stop the run we were on with a beautiful free-flowing 3-0 victory were you?" He said. "It was always a case of being together, organised and that was it.

"We knew it was one of those where first half we'd have to be a bit more patient and second half I thought we did a really good job."

The man who popped up with the header took the chance brilliantly and was assured defensively once again, and his manager was keen to acknowledge his importance.

"Massive, not just on the pitch but his leadership is what epitomises what we want in terms of his composure as well," he said.

"He never hides, doesn't always get it right but that's being a human, he reacts in the right way and he doesn't shirk anything, the big man's great."

The goal was Dickie's fifth of the campaign, which puts him second behind Tommy Conway in the scoring charts this term.

"His desire and aggression to attack it, his timing is extremely good and then I have to give credit to some of the deliveries recently that have been great."