Benik Afobe in fine Bristol City form in last warm-up game before Blackburn Rovers The on-loan Stoke City striker netted twice in Tuesday's XI vs XI practice match. Bristol City are ready for the run-in. They may have lost a player or staff member to a positive COVID-19 test but otherwise they are in rude health. Head coach Lee Johnson has explained that he has a fully fit squad for the weekend's trip to Blackburn Rovers. And further he has a returning striker who is looking razor sharp if Tuesday's performance was anything to go by. The 28-year-old striker netted twice in a practice match as the Robins played XI vs XI that also demonstrates the strength in depth across their squad. Johnson was speaking at Wednesday's pre-Rovers press conference. "It's a huge boost to have Benik Afobe for the run-in," said the head coach. "He's an unbelievable character - a real positive influence around the group as well as of course being a very good football player. "In life there are winners and losers of this situation, and Benik for all the hard work he has put in, and it was such a big disappointment for us to lose such a key man so early in the season plus his own personal tragedy, this has given him this focus to get fit for the last nine games - and hopefully 12 games. "He's in good shape and we've got to be careful. He hasn't played for nearly nine months now so we've got to tiptoe into it rather than come out of the blocks flying. "But he's in a good place. We had a behind-closed doors friendly yesterday and he scored two goals in that as well too and I think that will do him the world of good. Just scoring goals just adds to the confidence of these boys," said Johnson. Johnson has been working hard on the training pitch with his charges over the last few weeks, with extra time for individual development due to the social distancing measures early on regarding returning to training after lockdown. City fans may see the benefits of that over the next weeks if the Robins can get their organisation right. "We feel we're in a good place but the true test is when the games come round. I think we've got a good group anyway," added Johnson. "We certainly try and recruit good people and players that love playing football rather than players who love being footballers - and there is a difference sometimes. "So we were very strict on the regime when they were away from the football club. Obviously in the break we had through COVID-19, and they've come back extremely well. "I don't think fitness will be a problem, and I'm really pleased in one sense that we had the time to work - because we had a lot of new players. "And the one difficulty we've had is the turnaround in individuals that we've had, so any extra time for coaching and putting together partnerships and building that cohesion can only be good for a team like us in the position we're in," explained the head coach. Bristol City face Blackburn Rovers at 3pm on Saturday. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/benik-afobe-fine-bristol-city-4237292
One of the new LJ criteria ~ 'Players that love playing football rather than players who love being footballers' - 'and there is a difference sometimes'
