"I knew I could do this. It's no surprise to me."

In what has been a mixed first half of the season at Ashton Gate, Anis Mehmeti has been one of Bristol City's star performers in the Championship this term.

Having been in and out of the City side in his first season and a half in the West Country, the Albanian international has made the left-wing position his own. His six goals have seen him top the Reds' scoring charts and become one of the first names on Liam Manning's teamsheet.

Although the 23-year-old feels he is playing his best football since making the move to the South West almost two years ago, Mehmeti is not satisfied. He wants more and knows that to reach the top level, he cannot afford to become complacent.

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"I think I started a bit shaky at the beginning of the season and have found myself with playing and rhythm," explained the Albanian international. "I've been playing well, it's going well.

"But I know on the flipside I could be sitting here on 10 goals now and obviously I'm not so I put that pressure on myself to deliver for the team. I've missed chances of recent that I probably should be putting in the back of the net but for me, it's just about attacking the right areas and being in the right positions. I know the goals will follow."

After arriving at Ashton Gate in January 2023, Mehemti only started seven league games in his first six months as a City player and struggled to hold down a consistent place in the side under Nigel Pearson. Although similar was true in his first full season with the Robins, the 23-year-old showed flashes of his quality with goals against Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers.

Since then, the former Wycombe Wanderers winger has gone from strength to strength in red but he doesn't believe Manning has done anything, in particular, to help him take his game to the next level. However, he does credit the 39-year-old for believing in him.

"It's no secret that I had a tough time of it at the beginning and there have been times where I've shown individual moments, but nowhere near enough consistency," confessed Mehemti.

"Now I'm coming into the thick of it where I believe I'm putting in good, consistent performances and output most importantly. Belief is everything but there's also confidence and knowing that you're going to play the next game. Sometimes in a game, you might be thinking you're going to come off in the 60th, or 70th minute so you're trying to rush things in the game.

"Whereas there have been moments of recent where I know I'm going to be on the pitch so maybe my approach and decision-making have changed. I think belief is everything in football when you're trying to reach that top level.

"I wouldn't say there's anything specific [Manning has done]. We've gone over clips together, we've analysed my game and we've done extras on the pitch. He's just believed in me and showed his faith in me."

While Bristol City have impressed with their performances in recent weeks, the Robins have struggled to take their chances in front of goal and therefore failed to turn promising displays into wins. No game perhaps summed that up more than last weekend's draw against QPR when Marti Cifuentes' side found the net with one of their only two shots on target.

The Reds have only managed to win one of their last six matches since the November international break and Manning has been open about his frustration with his team's lack of cutting edge in the final third. Although Mehmeti admits the pressure is on him and his teammates to start firing in front of goal, he is keen to put the draw with QPR behind him.

"It's one of those things where you have to move on so quickly because there's such a quick turnaround in this league," explained Mehmeti. "There's not really time to dwell on things. Now we've got to pick ourselves up, we know we should have won the game comfortably, but we have to go again.

"That's the difference between being a midtable team and a side pushing for the play-offs. I think we've shown glimpses this year for sure but I don't think we've been anywhere near as consistent as we should be. The pressure is on us to deliver, especially us front boys to go and win games for the boys."

As they look to curtail a three-match winless run, City travel to The Hawthorns to face West Brom in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Sunday afternoon in their final match before Christmas.

The Baggies currently sit eighth in the Championship table and only two points adrift of the play-off places, but Carlos Corberan's side have struggled after an electric start to the campaign. Like the Reds, Albion have failed to convert draws into wins this season and have only claimed all three points in two of their last 15 matches.

Manning's side have managed to pull off some big results away from Ashton Gate already this term and the players are looking to repeat those heroics with the backing of a sold-out away end behind them in the Black Country this weekend.

"First and foremost we want to win the game," Mehmeti said. "I think we've shown that away from home this year against some big teams: Middlesbrough, Norwich, even Sunderland. For us as a team, nothing changes. We know they're a strong side and they carry some strengths but we can match them.

"We're going into the game to win because it's been a couple of games without a win so we're desperate for a win. [The support] is massive. They're like a 12th man and we're going to need them.

"It's been frustrating recently but we go there with their backing and hopefully to take all three points."

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