Bristol City fans can play their part in making Ashton Gate a hostile environment for visiting teams, but the crowd has to be patient with City’s new possession-based game.
That’s the message from City manager Nigel Pearson and left-back Cam Pring, ahead of the visit of Birmingham City on Saturday, as the Robins look to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
Pearson stopped short of issuing ‘a rallying cry’ to fans to get behind the team, because he said it was down to his players to spark what he hopes will be a ‘volatile’ atmosphere inside the stadium from the start of the match on Saturday, while Cam Pring spoke eloquently of the ‘massive impact’ the crowd can have in spurring on the team as they try to build pressure.
Many previous managers have spoken before about the desire to turn Ashton Gate into a fortress, with some like Lee Johnson even talking about how a trip to Bristol City was seen as a ‘soft touch’ for away teams, with away fans positioned behind one goal, while City’s most vocal fans are away in the ‘Section 82’ corner.
Pearson said he is one of those managers who believes it is down to the team on the pitch to get the fans going with their performance, rather than the other way around, but said he wants to see Ashton Gate being somewhere that away teams don’t enjoy playing at.
“We’ve got to be brave on the pitch,” said Pearson. “It’s important that other teams don’t enjoy coming to Ashton Gate - we want it to be volatile for them, we want it to feel intimidating and the best way for us to do that is for us as a team to generate the atmosphere on a match day by being aggressive, by being as dynamic as possible, to excite our fans. “That’s the best way for us to create a more hostile environment for teams that visit us,” he added.
City’s 2023-24 incarnation has seen the continuing evolution of a team that was good on the break and from set pieces into one that can also keep the ball and be patient in looking to create chances. It’s something that the fans - especially the ones who want to see fewer sideways passes and more balls into the box - are having to get used to.
“They’ve been very patient, and I appreciate that, and we appreciate that,” said Pearson. “I always think it’s down to us to excite our fans, or at least send the message that we’re trying to win and we care. I don’t believe in rallying cries like that because for me it’s about what you do rather than what you say.
“And the proof in the pudding is always what you see on a matchday, and fans will verbalise how they feel. Sometimes that’s frustration, and yeah I understand that. But what we will try to do is to make them believe or feel that their team is playing for them, and we want to try and entertain them as well,” he added.
The sight of City attacking the South Stand goal in front of the home supporters in the second half of games has long prompted a roar from the crowd - and that does have an effect on the pitch, according to Cameron Pring, the 25-year-old left back whose lung-busting overlaps have endeared him to the Dolman Stand faithful and those in the ‘Section 82’ corner.
He said that, while players will focus out the crowd noise with the ball at their feet, it’s in the moments in between that it has an impact - when there’s an attacking throw-in, a corner or a free kick, for example.
“I think it has a massive effect,” Pring said. “You don’t really hear the crowd too much when you’re on the ball, but it’s the little snippets like when you put a big challenge in, you hear it a bit more and you see people get off their seats and start shouting, or when someone’s dribbling with the ball, or a shot or something, that’s when you hear them, but not when you’re actually playing, you sort of zone out and don’t think about it, but they have a massive impact.
“As soon as you can hear that sort of roar, I think it spurs everyone on and everyone wants to do the best for them, more than anything,” he said, adding that his message to City fans ahead of the game against Birmingham City was a simple one: “Keep singing, and don’t be impatient when we’re trying to keep the ball, and build.
“If they are sat in like Preston were - keep singing, and be patient, because we’ll do our best to try and break them down,” he added.
