Why Nigel Pearson was “annoyed” at Bristol City’s Sheffield United defeat

City were by far the better team in the first half as United struggled to get going before the Blades eventually found the breakthrough in the second half through substitute James McAtee.

For all their threat, United goalkeeper Adam Davies was hardly tested and Pearson admitted: “I’m a bit annoyed today. I thought there were some really good things about the performance but the subs didn’t have the impact I wanted.

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“We didn’t get an impact off the bench and it’s a shame because we put a lot into the game. We conceded a sloppy goal and it’s no points out of two games we played well in. We’ve got to be better than that and got to learn from it

“They [United] have got loads of momentum, they’re in a really good run but we managed the game well in the first half, I thought. I thought the back four and the goalkeeper were really good but when we needed to make changes we didn’t get the impact. So it’s a disappointment for us.

“I preach about having a good group ethic but it’s not enough to not have the positive impact. Whether people think it’s harsh or not, I’m not bothered.”

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Pearson refused to be drawn on a first-half incident which saw the impressive Sam Bell go down after tangling with George Baldock as he looked to get on the end of a dangerous centre.

“I don’t bother looking any more to be honest because we don’t get any of them. They’ll make a story up about why it’s not given and I’ll be wasting my time,” Pearson added.

“But that’s not why we’ve lost the game. It didn’t happen, and not the reason we lose the game. Could have, should have. Didn’t happen.”