McNally a “stalwart” in Robins’ defence

Daniel Wales and Charles Hague-Jones discuss Luke McNally’s performances for Bristol City so far this season.

Transcript

00:00So, Dan, looking at Bristol City and picking out a player in particular, obviously, firstly,

00:06we've mentioned their season is sort of on a string at this halfway point. They can go

00:10one way, they can go the other. They'll obviously certainly be at the championships side come

00:16the next season, but they need to obviously push on. We've mentioned before the investment

00:21might be needed, the investment, and every time they sort of get these top players, they

00:26are loaning them out or, you know, selling them for big money. And that's sort of been

00:30the business model for the last few years. In terms of Luke McNally, he's been receiving

00:36high praise from the manager. He's played, you know, 24 games, started 22 this season.

00:42He's made a huge impact at Bristol City since signing in the summer. What are your sort

00:47of thoughts on him and how far he can go and how far he's helped Bristol City so far this

00:52season?

00:53Well, he's been their most consistent performer in a very inconsistent season. And it's no

00:57wonder that Liam Manning is giving him the praise saying he's doing extremely well, because,

01:02well, he is. He signed, of course, from Burning Deadline Day in August. And since then, it's

01:07been a stalwart in Bristol City's defence. And to be fair to their defence, they've been

01:11pretty good. They haven't considered that many goals. And I think that's a lot of it

01:15down to his play this year. And that's the frustration for Bristol City, I think, more

01:20than anything, because clearly they have got quality in that side. And players like

01:25Luke McNally, who are doing well and performing to a good standard every single week. And

01:30yet here we are, they're outside the playoffs, they've just lost 1-0 to Coventry City, and

01:36they just didn't take their chances in front of goal. And that really sums up their season.

01:39Obviously, it's great to have players playing well, but you need a team playing well. You

01:44need individuals also taking those opportunities when they come to them. That's just not happened

01:49for them this season so far. So, I mean, fair play to Luke McNally, because he's doing

01:54his job. And that's all that can be asked of him as a defender. Keep the majority of

01:59goals out, make it difficult for opponents attacking players to score, to create chances.

02:04And he's done that. So, well worthy of the praise from Liam Manning. But he now needs

02:08that his teammates from the other side of the pitch, the attackers, to start doing their

02:13individual roles as well. As a team, they seem quite cohesive, but individually in front

02:17of goal, Bristol City just aren't good enough at the moment. And that's really what is costing

02:21them. But as I point out there, Luke McNally doing really well this season as well. Liam

02:26Manning did say he's got things to improve on because, of course, all players can constantly

02:30improve as well. But if he does keep working, I'm sure he will achieve the standards he

02:35wants to, even higher than what he's currently producing week in, week out. But Liam Manning

02:40is certainly very pleased with the levels he's producing at the moment. Of course, going

02:44forward for Bristol City as well, we are in the January transfer window. Unlikely to be

02:48a lot of movement, I think, from them, which may be a frustration for Robins fans given

02:52where they are in the league and maybe where they're wanting to be as well. But I think

02:56it just comes down to those individuals currently there getting better.