Chief operating officer Mark Ashton gives view into Lee Johnson's future at Bristol City
By a_stockhausen | Posted: January 09, 2017
Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson finds himself under pressure after seeing his side drop to 18th in the Sky Bet Championship
Lee Johnson has the full backing and support of majority shareholder Steve Lansdown and his board of directors.
So says the Championship club's chief operating officer, Mark Ashton, who insists it will be "business as usual" at Ashton Gate in 2017.
Some City fans have begun to question Johnson's position in the wake of a depressing sequence of results which have seen the Robins lose nine of their last ten league games and drop to 18th place in the table.
Despite City being just three points above the relegation zone and a section of the Ashton Gate crowd having turned against the head coach, Ashton and his fellow directors have no intention of making any rash decisions.
Financial services billionaire Lansdown sees Johnson as the man to lead City forward and he has already backed the former Robins midfielder with hard cash in the transfer window.
Ashton told The Post: "It's business as usual here. Lee has a job to do and the message from Steve and the board is 'do your job.' If we all do that, then we will be okay.
"If you look at this industry, and I've said it before, our owner (Lansdown) is one of our biggest strengths. We not only have an English owner, we have a Bristolian owner, who cares passionately about this football club and does not act in an erratic manner.
"That does not mean he is not demanding, because he should be, but we have good, clear lines of communication, are are all in cinque with what we are trying to do and that means we can move quickly and dynamically when opportunities come along.
"We started the season well and no-one foresaw this blip in results. But we have been competitive in all of those games we have lost and, in my opinion, it will not take too much to turn things around."
Johnson and Ashton have worked tirelessly to bolster the spine of the team and Milan Djuric, Jens Hegeler and Bailey Wright have been signed in recent days with that in mind.
Ashton believes the new recruits will provide City's head coach with the options needed to translate competitive performances into victories between now and the end of the season. And he insists the club is in a better position than this time last year.
He added: "You need to compare the start of this window to the start of the one last January. Let me be very clear, that is not a criticism of anyone, it is just the way we operate.
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/chief-...bristol-city/story-30041296-detail/story.html
By a_stockhausen | Posted: January 09, 2017
Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson finds himself under pressure after seeing his side drop to 18th in the Sky Bet Championship
Lee Johnson has the full backing and support of majority shareholder Steve Lansdown and his board of directors.
So says the Championship club's chief operating officer, Mark Ashton, who insists it will be "business as usual" at Ashton Gate in 2017.
Some City fans have begun to question Johnson's position in the wake of a depressing sequence of results which have seen the Robins lose nine of their last ten league games and drop to 18th place in the table.
Despite City being just three points above the relegation zone and a section of the Ashton Gate crowd having turned against the head coach, Ashton and his fellow directors have no intention of making any rash decisions.
Financial services billionaire Lansdown sees Johnson as the man to lead City forward and he has already backed the former Robins midfielder with hard cash in the transfer window.
Ashton told The Post: "It's business as usual here. Lee has a job to do and the message from Steve and the board is 'do your job.' If we all do that, then we will be okay.
"If you look at this industry, and I've said it before, our owner (Lansdown) is one of our biggest strengths. We not only have an English owner, we have a Bristolian owner, who cares passionately about this football club and does not act in an erratic manner.
"That does not mean he is not demanding, because he should be, but we have good, clear lines of communication, are are all in cinque with what we are trying to do and that means we can move quickly and dynamically when opportunities come along.
"We started the season well and no-one foresaw this blip in results. But we have been competitive in all of those games we have lost and, in my opinion, it will not take too much to turn things around."
Johnson and Ashton have worked tirelessly to bolster the spine of the team and Milan Djuric, Jens Hegeler and Bailey Wright have been signed in recent days with that in mind.
Ashton believes the new recruits will provide City's head coach with the options needed to translate competitive performances into victories between now and the end of the season. And he insists the club is in a better position than this time last year.
He added: "You need to compare the start of this window to the start of the one last January. Let me be very clear, that is not a criticism of anyone, it is just the way we operate.
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/chief-...bristol-city/story-30041296-detail/story.html
