Bristol City boss Johnson pleased with options after comeback win over Blackburn

Lee Johnson described his Bristol City team as “still a work in progress” after seeing them move into the Sky Bet Championship play-off positions with a third successive win.

The hosts recovered from conceding a bizarre opening goal to claim the points with strikes from Josh Brownhill, Marley Watkins, Famara Diedhiou and Marlon Pack.

Head coach Johnson, who was cautioned for dissent by referee David Webb in the first half, was in predictably high spirits after the 4-1 victory.

He said: “It wasn’t the perfect performance because we conceded a really strange goal.

“But this is a new group of players getting to know one another’s game, which might explain it.

“We are still a work in progress, but we have more depth in certain positions thanks to new players being brought in.

“I particularly wanted to address the back-line because my teams will always score goals.

“In Tomas Kalas, we have brought in a real warrior. It was good to have Diedhiou back after his six-match ban and that gives us options up front as well.

“I have just met up with the owner and he tells me I must pay a fine or take a forfeit for my yellow card,” he said.

“I asked him if he would say what the forfeit was before I paid – but he wouldn’t, so I have a decision to make.”

Charlie Mulgrew’s 13th-minute inswinging corner found the net unaided to put Blackburn in front.

However, the home side were level in the 38th minute, Brownhill finding the top corner with a sweet free-kick.

Watkins made it 2-1 10 minutes after the break, shooting in after Matt Taylor had chested the ball into his path.

Substitute Diedhiou fired City’s third from an Andreas Weimann pass and skipper Pack completed the scoring with an 82nd-minute header.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray said: “I thought the result was cruel. If we had been three up at half-time it would have been no more than we deserved.

“After going in front, we had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper and hit the woodwork. It was a very frustrated dressing room at the interval with the score 1-1 because they had not done a lot to be level.

“We set out to entertain. I have never parked the bus as a manager and we will continue to be positive and attack when we can.

“Bristol play that way too. They have been reorganising in recent years as we are trying to do now and are probably that little way ahead of us.

“But I will keep bringing in good players to make us better and one day we will be a top side again.

“In the meantime, we will win some and lose some in the Championship, which is a very tough league.”