Have Belief In Yourselves - Moore.

Bristol City v Coventry City preview: Belief is the big issue, says new signing Simon Moore


UPON his arrival at Ashton Gate, Simon Moore achieved an instant insight into the mind-set of Bristol City's players.

If outsiders have been nonplussed by City's lowly position in League One this season, the 23-year-old goalkeeper needed very little time in which to formulate his own opinion as to why the Robins have continued to struggle since relegation from the Championship.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his team's 2-1 defeat at Ashton Gate on Saturday, Carlisle United manager Graham Kavanagh said it was a "joke" that a club with City's financial resources and support-base should be scrapping at the wrong end of the table.

Having made a successful debut, the 23-year-old Cardiff City goalkeeper said: "We have a fantastic group of players in that dressing room and, if they can only believe in themselves, then there is no reason why they cannot shoot up the league table.

"There is definitely enough talent in that team to get us out of the position we are in."

Months spent fighting relegation has taken a heavy toll on players who, for the most part, were starting out on their careers and boasted precious little first-team experience when they signed on at Ashton Gate last summer.

He added: "You only have to walk into that dressing room and look at the quality in there to see that this team should not be where it is.

"It leaves you scratching your head to find a reason why the club has not been doing as well as it possibly could have.

"I think it is down to confidence, which can be a funny thing in football. Things can change very quickly when you believe in what you are doing."

Moore knows what he is talking about. As a member of the Brentford team that finished third in League One last season and reached the play-off final at Wembley, he is accustomed to winning football matches and knows something about how such things are achieved.

He said: "Just look at my old club, Brentford, who have game on an 18-match unbeaten run and are top of the table. It is a ridiculously long unbeaten run, but they have been able to do it because they are confident.

"Their belief is so high, they don't feel they can be beaten. But it takes quite a few wins before you get to that stage and that is what we have to do here.

"If the lads here can gain some of that belief, I think they will move on quickly. If you could bottle it and sell it, you could become a millionaire overnight, because it is something everybody wants.

"Beating Carlisle was a massive result for the club. We are out of the bottom four and that will help us go into the next game against Coventry in the right mind-set," reasoned Moore, who has joined the Robins on loan until the end of the season.

"That is going to be another massive game for us and, if we can win again on Tuesday, then it will make a big difference to us and really help the boys. Obviously, there was a little bit of tension before the game and that became worse when we went 1-0 down.

"But goals make a big difference and the crowd were brilliant in the second half. They are a very passionate crowd down here and they love their football. So long as you put in 100 per cent and give your all for the club, I don't think they will have any complaints."

Having played second fiddle to the in-form David Marshall since signing for Cardiff in the summer, Moore is delighted to just be playing again after seven months spent kicking his heels in the Welsh capital.

"I have a goal of where I want to get to in the game, but it is a matter of working on it game by game and not looking too far ahead," confides Moore, who was widely held to be the best goalkeeper in League One last season.

"I jumped at the chance to join Bristol City, because I want to be the best goalkeeper I can and, the only way I can do that is by playing games. It felt great to be out there playing again after six or seven months without a game and long may it continue."



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