Liam Manning admits he felt Max O'Leary should have stayed in his box instead of rushing out to challenge Paul Smyth in the lead-up to QPR's equaliser as Bristol City drew with Marti Cifuentes' side, but praised the keeper's reaction.

The Robins missed the chance to return to winning ways in the Championship on Saturday lunchtime as while they dominated against the Hoops at Ashton Gate, they could only manage a 1-1 draw in their final home game before Christmas.

Scott Twine had given the Reds the lead midway through the second half as the attacking midfielder expertly curled home a free-kick from the edge of the box with his first touch after being introduced as a substitute.

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However, City's lead only lasted five minutes as the away side drew level when Smyth steered home from 40 yards out, having broken past the onrushing O'Leary on the halfway line.

Although Manning felt his keeper had made the wrong decision given the work of his teammates in the middle of the pitch, the 39-year-old revealed that O'Leary had already admitted his mistake in the changing room after the full-time whistle.

"He should have stayed," Manning admitted in his post-match press conference. "He's put his hands up to be fair, which for me, it's not an easy thing to do in today's society.

"But to the same point, there's been numerous times since I've been here where he's saved us as well so he's put his hands up and said he probably should have stayed, especially when you see the lads' attitudes in the middle of the pitch which was top.

"The lads recovered really well, I think there were four or five in the middle who were excellent."

While QPR have been in impressive form over the last few weeks, Saturday afternoon was yet another missed opportunity for Bristol City as for the second consecutive game they let two points slip through their fingers.

Had the Robins managed to see out the win at Ashton Gate and claim an extra two points at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland on Tuesday evening, they would have not only lifted the mood in and around the Reds' fanbase but also closed the gap to the play-off places at the top of the Championship.

Of course, Manning has been keen to take the positives from City's recent performances both at home and on the road, but the 39-year-old has been left frustrated by his team's ability to get over the line during close matches.

"Just this week, that's the frustrating bit," admitted the Robins head coach after the full-time whistle. "I'm sure every head coach manager will be sitting saying the same, we should have, could have, would have, but those words are a waste of time to me.

"We put those [defensive] foundations in last season. I think back to when we played QPR last season and we didn't create anywhere near or dominate anywhere near as much as we did today, so there's progress there, but if you want to do something you need to deliver now and the progress has to happen quickly."

The draw with Cifuentes' side leaves the Reds sat 10th in the Championship table and seven points adrift of the play-off positions at the time of writing, with several games kicking off later on Saturday afternoon.

After a week that has seen City play three times in just over a week, the Reds now have a week without a midweek game before they make the trip to The Hawthorns to face West Brom and Carlos Corberan next Sunday.

"It's a good opportunity to train," Manning explained. "So we'll be in training and working hard to be ready for it."

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