It's amazing what a week can bring in football. Last weekend the mood around Bristol City was one of doom and gloom following the Reds' defeat to Coventry City, now there is a bit of positivity in the air after the 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers.

Having salvaged a point with a much-improved second-half display against Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, the Robins were looking to carry some momentum into Saturday's meeting with John Eustace's side and they did exactly that.

Scott Twine gave City the lead with an excellent free-kick early in the first half and for 30 minutes or so, it looked as though Liam Manning's side were in complete control. That was until Andi Weimann headed home to haunt his old team after Makhtar Gueye hit the post late in the opening period.

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Fortunately, it was the Robins who produced the moment of quality needed to win the game in the second half. Substitute Joe Williams played a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Nahki Wells who slotted past Aynsley Pears in the Rovers net, with the help of a deflection.

It wasn't the perfect display, but the three points mean the Reds climb up to eighth in the table and they now only sit three points outside the play-off places. A week ago, the chances of a top-six finish felt minimal. Now, even the most pessimistic of fans will have to admit there is a chance, even if it's only slight.

There's still an awful lot of football to be played before anything of that magnitude is decided, however. In the meantime, here are our main talking points from Bristol City's win over Blackburn Rovers...

Home comforts

Over the last week or so, a lot has been made of City's record away from Ashton Gate this season. That criticism has been justified as the Reds have been nowhere near good enough on their travels recently and simply have to improve on the road if they want to seriously challenge for the play-off positions.

Manning also was also criticised for suggesting that winning at home was his priority. Whatever your view on that statement, and I have seen plenty of fans on both sides of the argument, it has to be recognised that the Robins have gone a long way to making BS3 a fortress in the Championship this season.

Following Saturday's win over Blackburn, Bristol City have now only lost two of a possible 14 Championship matches at home this season. Yes, they have drawn too many games on their patch as well, but only Burnley and Sheffield United have claimed all three points in the West Country this term, and City would have been good value for at least a point against the Blades.

No one is coming to Ashton Gate now expecting to win without breaking a sweat. That hasn't always been the case in recent years especially and while it alone won't be enough to propel the Reds into a promotion race this term, Manning and his side deserve their flowers for how they've performed in front of the home fans, in the last two months in particular. The City boss insists his side enjoy playing in BS3 and that's clear to see in their performances.

"I think what's helped is coming back and playing on a good surface to be fair," explained Manning. "They've been really tough the last two weeks when you look at the quality of the pitch away from home.

"It's about being hard to beat, trying to take things when you're on the road especially and coming back here, the lads enjoy playing here so long may it continue."

Scott Twine delivers again

"It's like a penalty isn't it?" That was Joe Williams' reply when he was asked to describe Twine's special skills with a dead ball in his post-match press conference and it is hard to argue against that on recent evidence.

Whenever the former Burnley man steps up to take a free-kick, supporters pull their phones out in expectation as they look to capture a moment of magic on video, Section 82 starts to chant the attacking midfielder's name we've even on occasion prepared the goal post to go into the live blog.

Was his effort against Rovers the most spectacular of his catalogue in a Bristol City shirt? Probably not, but it went in and that is the only thing that matters. There won't be many other clubs in the Championship that can deem close-range free-kicks as genuine scoring opportunities each and every time they're given. That is a real asset for the Reds to have in their armoury.

What was perhaps most enjoyable about Twine's performance however, was just how much of an impact he had on the game as a whole. He created more chances than any other player on either side, won three tackles, won 10 ground duels and also managed to earn five free-kicks.

His ability when standing over a dead ball alone shouldn't be enough to earn him his place in the team. Fortunately, at home, he is offering an awful lot more than that both in and out of possession. He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but performances like the one he produced on Saturday show why Manning has so much trust in him.

Like everyone, he is capable of having an off-day, as he did at Hillsborough, but his quality can almost single-handedly win you a game.

Armstrong takes big step for City

Sinclair Armstrong may have only missed a month or so of action with his hamstring injury, but the busy festive period meant that he spent six games on the sidelines in the run-up to Christmas and over the New Year.

In his absence, Wells, Sam Bell and Fally Mayulu have led the line to mixed results. The latter in particular has struggled to impact games when he has been given the nod by Manning and often appeared disconnected from the rest of his teammates at the top end of the pitch. Sometimes, that was through no fault of his own as it didn't seem as though Mayulu was particularly suited to the lone striker formation.

The one thing no one can say about Armstrong's performance against Blackburn this weekend was that he wasn't involved. The Ireland youth international posed a constant threat with his pace when running in behind, had a couple of neat touches to link up play and used his body well to win several fouls, including the one that led to Twine's opener.

Granted, there were one or two instances where his touch was poor and the ball ran out of play. He could have also maybe done better to convert a Max Bird cross in the first half, but he managed to get on the ball a lot and offered something different up front, much to his manager's satisfaction.

"Sincs is as good as the quality he gets," explained Manning. "He had some real good service. Ran the depth really well, and got two of their three centre halves booked which naturally then you look at how they had to defend the rest of the game.

"They're a bit more cautious, a bit more tentative, a bit less aggressive. He caused them real problems and if you're a centre-back, the one thing you'll do going into the game is be fearful of the ball going in behind you."

Armstrong isn't the finished article and we shouldn't expect him to be at just 21 years of age, but he always gives opposition defences a tough time. If he can stay fit, that will be a great asset to have either off the bench or from the off between now and the end of the season.

Turning up under relentless pressure

Let's be clear, this is a Blackburn side that is struggling with injuries and in the midst of a difficult run of form. However, they are also a team who started the day in the top six and a defeat would have massively dented Bristol City's play-off hopes.

It would be a bit over the top to label a league game a 'must win' in January, but ahead of kick-off this felt like an important game in the story of the Reds' season. That was a feeling that was shared by a lot of the journalists in the Ashton Gate press room and likely by a lot of the supporters on the concourse.

Following the defeat to Coventry, there were plenty who suggested that Manning's Robins had failed to deliver when the pressure was on. While that may well have been true at the CBS Arena, that same criticism cannot be levelled at this side this weekend.

City put everything into their display and moved a step closer to the play-off positions with the win. Of course, it is only one step in the right direction but it was another demonstration of this side's ability to grind out a result even when they aren't necessarily playing their best football at times.

While every game may only be worth three points, being able to beat the teams around you can be crucial in the race for promotion. However, it will matter very little if it isn't followed up next week at Oxford, as the City head coach emphasised after the full-time whistle.

"I think we've got a terrific group of lads that are willing to work extremely hard for each other, I think we've got some real quality, a real clear way of what we're trying to do and we're capable of winning games at the level," explained Manning.

"Naturally, when you add all that together of course. It's about turning up and going again next week because it's relentless. Before today, we hadn't won in a couple and the feeling's different."

Nothing is decided in January and the Reds are going to have to win a lot more games under pressure in the coming months to stand a chance.

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