All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, that includes Bristol City's four-match unbeaten run in the Championship which finally came undone against Coventry City on Saturday afternoon.

Having dropped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle last weekend, the Robins would have been keen to get back to winning ways and secure a first win on the road since November against Frank Lampard's Sky Blues. For 10 minutes or so, it seemed as though they were going to do exactly that.

Both Anis Mehmeti and Nahki Wells got into some really good positions and the latter should have broken the deadlock with less than 10 minutes on the clock. The 34-year-old found himself one-on-one with Oliver Dovin and while he connected well with his right-footed effort, the Swedish stopper got down to turn his shot past the post.

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Sadly, that was as close as City came to finding the net in the game. Coventry, on the other hand, had plenty of opportunities to test Max O'Leary and although the Sky Blues' finishing was erratic, it took one moment of quality from Brandon Thomas-Asante to ensure that all three points would remain at the CBS Arena.

For the first time in almost a month, Bristol City fans walked away from a Championship game questioning their side's performance after a defeat. It certainly wasn't their worst showing of the season, but aspects of the display were far too similar to losses against the likes of Portsmouth, West Brom and Derby County in months gone by.

I imagine most who made the trip to the Midlands on Saturday afternoon will be keen not to spend too much time reflecting on the events of a frustrating 90 minutes of football. I on the other hand am employed to do exactly that.

With that said, here are the main talking points from the CBS Arena...

Where has the away form gone?

Since I took on this role during the November international break, Bristol City have played six away matches. They have won none of those games, lost four and drawn two. Before anyone points the finger at me, I don't think me sitting in the press box had anything to do with the Robins' performance at the CBS Arena, Fratton Park or even Vicarage Road.

On the other hand, in that time the Reds' form at Ashton Gate has been impressive. Manning's side have only lost one league game at Ashton Gate since the November international break and that was against Scott Parker's high-flying Burnley who are looking more and more like a promotion-worthy side with each passing week. It has been that record in BS3 that has kept the Reds within touching distance of the top six, but it can only do so much.

In his post-match press conference in the Midlands, Manning admitted that although he wants to win every game, winning on the Robins' own patch was the priority. There is some method in that thinking as many have suggested in the past that by winning your home games and drawing away you can mount a serious challenge for the play-off places. However, City have only picked up two points from a possible 18 in their last six matches on their travels.

For comparison, in their first eight away games of the season, the Reds secured 12 points and picked up some major scalps including beating Norwich City at Carrow Road, Middlesborough at the Riverside and Preston North End at Deepdale. Even with consecutive 3-0 defeats at both Pride Park and Ewood Park, that proved to be a much more fruitful period away from the South West.

Somehow, and it is much easier said than done, City and Manning have to find a way to start winning more regularly away from home while also maintaining their strong record at Ashton Gate. For hopes of a play-off finish to even be entertained, the Reds are going to need probably pick up an average of two points a game and that will not be possible with this current record on the road.

Corner yet to be turned in front of goal

Heading into the festive period, Manning and the supporters were both voicing their frustration with the Robins' lack of cutting edge in the final third. However, seven goals in the space of four games after Christmas Day, including a 3-0 thumping of Portsmouth, will have led some fans to believe that City's problems in front of goal had been banished.

Anyone of that school of thought will have almost certainly reverted back to their old ways of thinking after the full-time whistle at the CBS Arena. Despite getting into some really dangerous positions at times against Lampard's Sky Blues, the Reds didn't create a single scoring chance better than the one that fell to Wells with just a matter of minutes on the clock.

When this team is firing on all cylinders, they can be incredibly dangerous going forward. When they're not performing at the level expected of them, as was the case on Saturday, they look toothless in the opposition penalty area and as if they'll never score. Things are not perfect in the box and Manning's comments suggest it would be naive to ever assume the issue has completely vanished.

"You never turn a corner, you're never going to complete it, right?" said the 39-year-old. "You're never going to be perfect so there's always going to be games where you perform well and you execute and other games where you find it tougher.

"The challenge is to get something from today, that you come away, it's 0-0 and you go it was quite a poor game with low quality and you go away taking a point and moving forward into the next one. That's the bit that we have to do better."

Unexpected twist in Fally's journey

It's safe to say Manning has come out to bat for Fally Mayulu in recent weeks. As most managers would, the 39-year-old defended the Frenchman after he was cheered off against Wolves last weekend and emphasised the fact that the striker is not the finished article as he continues his journey with the Robins.

However, being dropped from the matchday squad in its entirety was unlikely to ever be a planned step on that journey. When asked about that decision before kick-off and after the full-time whistle Manning revealed that the call was a selection decision, insisting that Mayulu hadn't picked up an injury in the wake of last week's FA Cup exit.

It may seem strange to discuss a player who didn't even make the squad after such a disappointing defeat, but Manning's call may speak volumes about where the 22-year-old sits in the pecking order currently. The Reds head coach said just a matter of days ago that the trip to the Midlands would come too soon for both Joe Williams and Sinclair Armstrong to start, but in the end, he named both players among the substitutes and even decided to introduce both in the second half. All while the forward that was only signed last summer in a deal understood to be worth around £2.5million was nowhere to be seen.

As players return from injury, others are of course going to have to drop out of the matchday squad to create space. No one will have been surprised to see Harry Cornick not included in Saturday's 20-man list for example, but for the first signing of the summer to be left out speaks volumes, especially when you take into account Manning's comments about the current battle for places.

"The competition is quite clear," the City head coach explained. "That's the good thing about it, people have to deliver. Whether you're on for 90 minutes, 60 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever it is, you have to grab that opportunity, help the team and you do that by performing.

"That's the bit now, when you look at it, it's making sure that you're ready to go."

Mayulu hasn't done enough in the minutes he has been afforded in the last month to show that he is ready to lead the line. This weekend almost felt like the first time his manager admitted that himself, even if with his actions, not his words. It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks and months present for the forward.

Some unwarranted optimism

This might be where I lose some of you but, it is still far too early to write this season off. Yes, the defeat to Coventry was a missed opportunity. Had Bristol City won at the CBS Arena, they would have closed the gap to the top six while also ensuring that Lampard's Sky Blues didn't move closer to them in the table.

However, the distance between City and the play-off places is exactly the same as it was at 2:59pm on Saturday afternoon, four points. Maybe it could have and should have been just a point but as Manning has said multiple times this season, there is very little value in the words "could've" and "should've" when talking about football.

If the Reds can bounce back with a good result against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Wednesday evening, they will put themselves back in the play-off mix, especially because the Owls are also in the race for the top six. If they are then able to follow that up with three points against Blackburn Rovers at Ashton Gate next weekend, who knows where they could be in the table when Sunday rolls around.

What Saturday's defeat does do, however, is increase the pressure on the Robins heading into the next two matches. A win over Coventry would have given Manning's side some breathing space to slip up in the next two games but off the back of a defeat, they will now head to Yorkshire all but needing to come away with all three points.

When the pressure has been on at times this season, especially in front of busy away ends, City haven't managed to deliver on a consistent basis. If they want to show their supporters they're serious about challenging for the play-off places, that needs to change in the coming week.

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