Bristol City: It could be a very important point, says Derek McInnes

RELIEVED Bristol City boss Derek McInnes believes his players have what it takes to win their fight for Championship survival.

McInnes watched his team scrap a goalless draw against basement club Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday and then sought to accentuate the positives.

It may not have been City's finest performance this season, but the result helped the Robins extend the gap between themselves and the bottom three to four points and ended a dismal run of seven successive away defeats. McInnes said: "We got a solid, committed performance and that is what we need in this situation.

"From our point of view, and that is all we care about, it could be a very important point.

"It's a game less to play and we have stretched the gap between us and the bottom three.

"There was a lot that was right about the performance and I'm not left scratching my head looking for the answer.

"We've picked up four points from the last three games and that sort of form will keep us in the division."

Although they had to withstand intense pressure from a Portsmouth side that desperately needed all three points, City came out fighting to earn the first away point since beating Southampton at St Mary's on December 30.

"First and foremost, it stops the rot on the road," said McInnes, pictured. "There are a few positives to take from the game and that is the biggest one.

"We'd rolled over a few times on the road and that could not continue. But that never looked like being the case in this game."

City kept their first clean sheet in 13 matches, dating back to January 3, despite not being at their best.

McInnes said: "Obviously, a clean sheet is something that has been much sought after, certainly away from home, and to get a point on the road, as much as we wanted three, is pleasing.

"In terms of a technical performance and individual performances, we were off what we had produced in the last two games. But in terms of work rate, commitment, desire, energy and a refusal to lose the game, it was all there in abundance.

"We cannot always play well and I'll take that all day long, so long as we show that attitude and application to the game."

He added: "It could have gone either way. When you play 4-4-2, it gives you a better chance of scoring a goal, but it can also leave you stretched when it goes the other way.

"We rode our luck once or twice, but I felt we also created opportunities ourselves. You have to credit Portsmouth, because they defended well and stopped us creating as many chances as we should have done."

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