Daniel Wales and Charles Hague-Jones discuss Bristol City, and their hunt for the play-offs.
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00:00Now, Bristol City, one of the most informed teams outside the top two in the championship.
00:06Obviously, we've seen the likes of Burnley have their incredible run towards the Premier League.
00:11Now, Bristol City have been flirting with the playoffs for a number of months.
00:15But then, you know, you sort of date back to really end of December and they've suddenly picked up these wins, these points.
00:21And it has put them in a great position in terms of their playoff hopes.
00:25You know, notably, their history in the playoffs hasn't been the greatest.
00:30Obviously, got to the final in 2008, all that time ago, you know, narrowly losing to Hull City.
00:37So what a different story it could have been for them.
00:40But that's a bit of experience, I guess.
00:42I mean, maybe it's not at the same time with a sort of new revolution, this new generation of Bristol City players.
00:50So, yeah, obviously, it's going to be a massive ask.
00:52But I think if you look at the playoff places, yes, it's going to be tough for them.
00:57But if anyone has resilience, if anyone has that mentality at the moment, the winning, obviously, you know, didn't go to plan against Strugglers Luton in their previous outing.
01:06But, you know, as a whole, as a sort of push in 2025, you know, maybe the first half of the season wasn't what it could have been.
01:15But 2025 for Bristol City has been very positive.
01:19It has been very successful.
01:21And they are nearing that playoff, you know, contention.
01:23Obviously, anything can really happen still.
01:26But you do feel that it's pretty much confirmed for them.
01:30And they are going to be competing.
01:31Whether they can compete is the bigger question, though.
01:35You know, can they pull together?
01:37Can they go all the way and get to Wembley and then go all the way again and reach the Premier League in that ÂŁ100 million game?
01:44Dan, what are your thoughts on where Bristol City stand ahead of the playoff race?
01:49You know, and how impressed with them have you been throughout 2025 in terms of really pushing on and making sure that they, you know, are in and around that top six?
02:01Well, Charles, I think that Liam Manning deserves immense credit for just simply getting Bristol City where they are in the championship table.
02:08There's a strong argument to suggest that they probably have a middling championship squad.
02:13Yes, they have some good players.
02:15Let's not get away from that.
02:16You know, the likes of Enes Pometti, for example, is a real star in the making.
02:20But I think for the most part, they've got a squad that, you know, it's a good championship squad.
02:25But perhaps you wouldn't expect it to be challenging as high as where they are.
02:29And that comes down to him and his coaching staff and his style of football that he's employed at the club.
02:35So all credit must go to him and his staff.
02:38And, of course, the players for perhaps even playing beyond what they thought was capable of them.
02:44So that's certainly for the here and now in terms of giving him credit.
02:47Whether they then go on to go up is a different matter.
02:51Of course, it will be a tough playoff campaign.
02:53It always would be.
02:55The likes of Sheffield United are a Premier League side or have been at least in very recent years.
03:00And Sunderland, maybe not so recent, but certainly were perhaps a bit more expected to be around there than Bristol City were.
03:08And then, of course, you might have Coventry below that.
03:10So it depends on who they play, of course.
03:12Likely to be Sunderland at present.
03:15But, you know, it's there for the taking for Bristol City, given the momentum and the form that they've shown in these last couple of months of the season.
03:24Certainly, you'd be a brave man to bet against them the way that they're playing at the moment.
03:28Yes, of course, they had that loss against Luton Town in their most recent match.
03:32But really before that, they'd be an exemplary in a lot of their games, especially at Ashton Gate as well.
03:39So you think that if they are going into the playoffs and they probably are going to have that home leg first, they'll want to make that count.
03:44I'd imagine most teams would want the away leg first because that's just how football tends to be.
03:49But probably won't be the case for Bristol City because, of course, Sunderland and Sheffield United are too far ahead.
03:54So they'll get the away leg first, whoever they end up playing.
03:57But certainly Bristol City, knowing that they've got that capability at Ashton Gate, will want to make that count in the first leg.
04:04And then, of course, it's just about holding on in that second leg.
04:08And if they are to go up, then, you know, you've got to plan for the Premier League.
04:12But, of course, you do worry that because of the way this season's gone in terms of Leicester, Ipswich, Southampton all probably going straight back down.
04:19When would Bristol City survive, it would seem a hard ask given the fact that they do have a largely championship-based squad with not much Premier League experience at all, to be honest.
04:31But they're certainly capable if they put a bit of money into it.
04:34And Liam Manning certainly has that capability, I think, to get them at least competing.
04:40But it will be a tall order, it's fair to say.