"It was frustrating, right? I'm sure everybody is feeling the same right now." That was Liam Manning's response when asked for his immediate feelings following Bristol City's defeat to Swansea City. The Robins head coach was pleased with numerous aspects of his team's performance but recognised that meant very little without the points to back it up.

The 39-year-old's feelings were echoed by those in and around Ashton Gate. This was a game that a top-six team should win and while the Reds had chances to do exactly that, they couldn't make it count.

Was City's performance perfect? No, it was far from it. But in flashes, Manning's side showed what they were about as they threatened from set-pieces, put together some good passing moves and carved out some good scoring chances in the first half.

The start of the second half brought with it more of the same. Mark Sykes twice threatened down the right flank, only for his final ball to let him down as the Reds continued to knock on the door. Then, perhaps inevitably, the away side struck against the run of play as Josh Tymon turned home into an empty net following a save from Max O'Leary.

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In an all too familiar fashion, the chance to climb into the top six slipped from the Robins' grasp. The three points and a place in the play-off places were on offer but not for the first time this season, or in City's history, they couldn't quite grab it. Only time will tell just how big a blow that will be in the story of the season.

I'm sure most of you will be eager to banish Sunday's game to the back of your mind and instead look forward to Wednesday night's clash with Stoke, but here are the main talking points from the Reds' 1-0 defeat to Swansea City...

January risks to be tested

If you had asked Bristol City supporters which player they would have least liked to have seen hobble off on Sunday afternoon, my bet would be most fans would answer Nahki Wells. If you were to ask them who would be second in their list, I would imagine you'd have quite a few people suggest one of Jason Knight or Rob Dickie. The other name I think a lot would throw into the mix is Luke McNally.

While the support was divided by the signing of the former Burnley man, with many believing the Robins were already well-equipped in defence, he has proven to be one of City's most consistent players. Week after week he has produced solid defensive displays while also carrying an attacking threat in the opposition box which has seen him start all but one of the Reds' 17 games in all competitions since he made his debut.

With the above factors in mind, there was understandably a feeling of concern in the Ashton Gate air when the centre-back hobbled around the edge of the pitch having received treatment for an injury. Although Liam Manning couldn't confirm the exact details of McNally's issue he did admit post-match that his guess would be "it's not going to be great."

If the Ireland youth international were to be sidelined, it would leave just Dickie and Zak Vyner as the only natural, senior centre-backs available to the Robins head coach. That will worry most supporters considering the fact there are still 15 games to be played, but before the transfer window closed, Manning insisted that City had not left themselves short of options.

"For me, it's right on the cusp of things," explained the 39-year-old in January. "But we've got to get through 16 games and not 30 like we have done so far.

"George [Tanner] can play centre-half or full-back, Haydon [Roberts] can play centre-half as well as full-back or wing-back," Manning continued on another occasion in January. "Josh Campbell-Slowey is one we're quite excited by. He's on his way back in that little period as well so for me, we've got the options."

You will have your views on whether or not Roberts and Tanner are better options at this stage than Rob Atkinson, Kal Naismith or even a January signing would have been. But should McNally be ruled out long-term, the depth that the City boss has stood by will be put to the test. Hopefully, the defender makes a speedy recovery and is back in the fold sooner than initially expected. If he doesn't, we will find out in the coming days whether or not the Robins made the right call by taking the risks that they did in the transfer window.

Quality a necessity

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that moments of individual quality are what have led to Bristol City picking up points in recent weeks. Whether it be Mark Sykes' strike at Oxford United, Scott Twine's free-kick against Blackburn Rovers, Sykes' crosses at Sheffield Wednesday or Luke McNally's goal against Derby County, Liam Manning has often described those decisive points as moments of outstanding quality, or words to that effect.

When asked what was missing in Sunday's defeat to Swansea City, Manning replied: "None of it was through a lack of attitude, will, or desire or any of the behaviours that are the first thing I look at. Ultimately, we didn't win today because of quality."

It is easy to point the finger at some players and suggest that they simply weren't hungry enough to win an Anglo-Welsh derby, but this weekend's loss was not a result of a lack of desire or ambition. It was simply an inability to turn scoring opportunities into goals.

On another day Jason Knight would have opened the scoring with eight minutes on the clock, Rob Dickie would have come off the Ashton Gate turf with a brace and Sam Bell would have opened his account for the season with a wonderful left-footed effort. Instead, Swansea converted one of their only two genuine chances in the game and will hop back over the Severn Bridge with three points under their belt.

Of course, some will argue that I'm putting a positive spin on what was an incredibly frustrating afternoon. Maybe I am, but matches like Sunday's defeat to Swansea are a lot more encouraging than games like last month's 1-0 defeat at Coventry. The Reds did more than enough to claim a point from the game and that is why it is so irritating that they have come away with nothing.

Ultimately, if City are to miss out on the top six, some will point to this as the point the play-offs slipped through the Robins' hands. I would argue the 3-0 defeats away to Derby, Blackburn and Portsmouth were more damaging personally, but Sunday was just another example of the fact that quality in both boxes is what makes the difference at the top of the Championship.

Where do we stand with Harry?

It's safe to say, Sunday's game didn't have the feel of a typical Anglo-Welsh derby in the stands. Whether it was the strange kick-off time, the football on display or the miserable weather, neither the Bristol City nor Swansea City fans were quite as vocal as they have been in the past.

But one moment that did produce a raft of noise from the home crowd came in the 87th minute when the fourth official brandished his board which had a green number 27 on one side of it. As Toby Osborne read out the name Harry Cornick, the noise that emanated could not be ignored and was bookended by a chorus of Herman's Hermits' 'I'm Into Something Good'. Let's be frank, no one would have expected the former Luton Town man to garner that sort of reception 12 months ago.

Liam Manning had insisted the forward would be in contention having not left Ashton Gate in the January transfer window so it wasn't a surprise to see the 29-year-old named on the City bench. What was slightly surprising, however, was the fact that he was handed his first Championship minutes of the season at this stage of this game in particular.

Cornick's cameo perhaps raised more questions than answers. Is he a genuine forward option now? Where does he fall in the pecking order? Why has he not played for all these months? What role will he play between now and the end of the campaign?

Unfortunately, I cannot provide the answers to all of those questions as I don't have a crystal ball, however, one comment from the City head coach in his post-match press conference shed some light on the striker's status in the squad.

"Corns has been great," explained Manning. "It's been a really challenging one to manage at times because he's such a top pro and such a top person. But the window's shut, he's fully in and we'll use him as and when he's needed."

That final remark, "as and when he's needed", stood out at the time. While the door seems to be open for Cornick to make future cameos, it doesn't seem as though he's someone Manning is planning to turn to week in and week out.

Sunday afternoon showed that the 29-year-old is maybe not quite as far out of the equation as many would have assumed just a matter of days ago, but Section 82 may not be able to sing there "woke up this morning feeling fine" each and every week between now and May.

Make or break week

Heading into Sunday's game, a lot of the talk in the press room at Ashton Gate was around the fact that this next week of fixtures could well propel the Robins into the play-off places if they were to come away with upwards of six points. With matches against Swansea City, Stoke City and Cardiff City, all of whom have had difficult campaigns so far, within the space of a week, this could be a make-or-break seven days in the race for the top six.

Of course, Liam Manning tends to be a lot more measured in his assessment than supporters or journalists and that was the case when it came to this run of matches. Although he recognised its potential importance, he played down suggestions it would be definitive in the battle for promotion to the Premier League.

"It's not going to make or break the season this week," the 39-year-old explained on Thursday afternoon. "But it definitely can contribute to where we want to get to. I think it's one of those where my message to the lads won't change."

Whether we are quite in make-or-break territory is almost irrelevant. This week's games against both Stoke and Cardiff are now as close to must-wins as you can get in February. Six points would probably be enough to remain within touching distance of the play-off places, but anything less and the Robins could well risk their season being over before the March international break rolls around.

The Potters have improved under Mark Robins, but they still sit 18th in the table and were beaten by Portsmouth just a matter of weeks ago. Similarly, Cardiff have picked up a few big results since the turn of the year, but they were thrashed 7-0 by Leeds in their last Championship outing. Any team, not just City, with play-off ambitions should be viewing those two matches as a good chance to get three points.

One defeat doesn't mean the season is over and it would be naive to assume the most chaotic league in the world would ever be that black and white. If that one defeat is then followed up with poor performances and results in the coming days, maybe then more questions should be asked. History suggests they will be.

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