Realistic Target - Promotion Only..

Bristol City: No champagne until the Championship, says Cotterrill.

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Steve Cotterill makes a point to his Bristol City players at Ashton Gate

Bristol City supporters may have been celebrating the first anniversary of manager Steve Cotterill's appointment this week, but the man himself is having none of it.

Cotterill will not be uncorking the champagne bottles until this season's target – promotion back to the Championship – has been met.

He said: "It's nice for the fans to see their club at the top of the table, but we can't stand still and admire our position."

A 16-game unbeaten run in League One saw attention turn to the transformation Cotterill has undertaken at the club.

But continuous improvement is Cotterill's watchword, knowing that any manager who rests on his laurels before the end of the season is in for a rude awakening.

He said: "I don't think you ever stop looking to improve the team. The minute you sit back and think you've cracked it, then you are in trouble.

"There are only two spirals in football – upward and downward – and standing still in this game will see you end up on a downward spiral.

"We are always looking to improve in the club within our budget. The transition we have had over the last 12 months, while being a major change, it has been quite easy because there has been an acceptance by the players already here of the new players coming in.

"Those established players recognised that they needed help and last year the loan players did that. The existing players who have signed on a permanent basis have stepped up to the mark this season.

"The players we have brought in have been very good lads. The game against Peteborough brought to the attention of a wider audience all those things that I had said I wanted to bring to Bristol City when I came in a year ago.

"I want to play a high-tempo with fast passing and to be a competitive, healthy and cohesive unit.

"At Peterborough, although it seemed as though we were in cruise control, we weren't really because we were only a slip away from being on edge again.

"It's really nice all the plaudits being fired at everyone's way at the club at the moment, but we are just looking to continually improve.

"The message will remain the same while I'm here and all that I'm trying to do is help the boys to improve their game.

"I think there is room for improvement in their game and it might have to be that the improvement comes with promotion to the Championship and being thrown in at the deep end.

"I'm not saying that promotion is going to happen, but I would hoped that promotion is the outcome. The players can progress so far, but then it's all about the competition they are playing in. And we want to be playing in the Championship next season."

Cotterill, meanwhile, cast his eye over Sunday's FA Cup opponents Telford when they beat Basingstoke in a replay a week last Tuesday.

Telford have a fine FA Cup tradition having beaten a host of League clubs in the early 1980s and 1990s.

And in the 2003-2004 season, Telford beat Brentford and Crewe before being put out by eventual finalists Millwall.

Cotterill said: "Telford have been through some tough times recently, but I can remember when they were a regular FA Cup giant killer.

"They haven't lost that heritage and I can remember when I was at Cheltenham and we played Telford, it was the Shropshire club who were the bigger outfit.

"We want to make sure that we are good hosts at the weekend, apart from the 90 minutes on the pitch."


Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/...tory-25192617-detail/story.html#ixzz3L1AowWjW

I've got my Stella ready, I think the man is going to do it for US..