Whatever way you want to look at it, a return of 10 points from a possible 12 available is a decent haul for Bristol City over the Christmas and New Year period.

Had we been a little wiser away at Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park on New Year’s Day, we could have and should have been talking about four wins on the spin and 12 points. The victory against a spirited and organised Derby County has seen us climb to eighth in the table.

McNally and Zak Vyner were excellent as was Twine but once again for me, it was Jason Knight who set the tone. There was a moment in the second half when he burst past Mehmeti and Max Bird to steal the ball from Derby before driving 20 yards up the pitch until he was eventually brought down to win a free kick. Knight is some footballer.

When there is only one goal in it, you can never relax, especially having conceded a late equaliser in the last match away at Plymouth Argyle. We seemed to have learnt a little from that match and our game management in the final few minutes was good. Mehmeti, Mayulu, Hirakawa and Knight all did well to keep the ball deep in the County half and we saw the game out to seal the three points.

McNally and Zak Vyner were excellent as was Twine but once again for me, it was Jason Knight who set the tone. There was a moment in the second half when he burst past Mehmeti and Max Bird to steal the ball from Derby before driving 20 yards up the pitch until he was eventually brought down to win a free kick. Knight is some footballer.

When there is only one goal in it, you can never relax, especially having conceded a late equaliser in the last match away at Plymouth Argyle. We seemed to have learnt a little from that match and our game management in the final few minutes was good. Mehmeti, Mayulu, Hirakawa and Knight all did well to keep the ball deep in the County half and we saw the game out to seal the three points.

With the January transfer window open, I wonder if Manning is playing his cards close to his chest when he says he expects it to be a quiet month, certainly in terms of incoming players. Most fans expect forward Harry Cornick to leave and with a new contract unlikely at the end of the season, Kal Naismith may look at what options are available. We have already seen one transfer out with defender Rob Atkinson joining Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the season. There was a meltdown in some quarters on social media after City made the call to allow Atkinson to leave (albeit only on loan), with a feeling that this left us short of defensive cover.