Nigel Pearson insists his long wait for a home win as Bristol City boss will soon be over.
The 0-0 draw with Preston was the Robins’ 13th successive match without a victory at Ashton Gate, 10 of which have been since Pearson took charge.
But after an entertaining game both sides could have won, the experienced manager was keen to stress the positives.
“We keep on being reminded about the home record, but it didn’t seem to affect us today and all I saw was a team giving everything,” he said.
“If we continue to play with that amount of energy, drive, togetherness and commitment that elusive win won’t be long coming.
“I have a good group of players, who want to do well, and they are more frustrated than I am in the dressing room about today’s outcome.
“There were a lot of positives. Both sides could have won it, but we forced the best saves from their goalkeeper and I saw a lot to please me.
“The players are desperate to get that home win for the supporters and I couldn’t fault the effort they put in.
“We have played well in all our home games this season and could have won the lot.
“It hasn’t turned out that way, but I look at the bigger picture and can see positive things developing.
“There were good individual performances. If I were Preston’s manager, I would be pleased with how they played and I am pretty happy myself.
“It was a good, competitive game, between two side trying to win.”
Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen made fine saves to keep out long-range efforts from Rob Atkinson in the first half and Han-Noah Massengo in the second.
But the visitors were also a threat going forward, Sean Maguire hitting the crossbar on 39 minutes and firing just wide from Dan Johnson’s pass just before the break,
Emil Riis Jakobson volleyed over from another good North End chance on the hour and their boss Frankie McAvoy was also in upbeat mood.
He said: “The result could have gone either way, but I felt we edged the game and had chances to win it, particularly in the first half.
“It was a good contest and probably a fair outcome in the end. It’s a decent day on the road for us.”
“We probably didn’t test their goalkeeper enough for the amount of good possession we had.
“But if you can’t win on opposing territory, the most important thing is not to get beaten, so I’m happy enough.
“Bristol (City) may not have won at home for a while, but they are a good, strong side, with experienced players, who will put that right soon.
“We had to defend our box manfully from long throws and other balls into our box at times and did just that.
“I thought Sean Maguire was excellent up front. When we got the ball to our wing-backs, we looked very dangerous.
“Dan Iversen has done well to save a great strike from Massengo, but we had periods on top without making the most of them.
“Our squad is coming together nicely and the signs have been good in recent games. Our supporters were brilliant and I think they saw players giving their all.”
