'We're all ambitious' - Rob Dickie on Bristol City play-off dream, Manning impact and Watford

He may only be 28 years old but Rob Dickie is one of the few senior heads in Liam Manning's Bristol City squad and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to suggest he is one of the Robins' most important players.

The centre-back returned from suspension to start City's 1-0 defeat to Burnley on Saturday as he looks to put together a run of starts after an injury-interrupted start to the season. So far this term, Dickie has only managed six league appearances having picked up a hamstring injury during the Reds' 1-1 draw with Coventry City at Ashton Gate back in August.

After impressing on his return to fitness in City's 3-1 win over Preston North End, the defender was sent off only nine minutes after taking to the field against Sheffield United and that ensured that he was ruled out of the commanding win over Norwich City before the international break. Even after the Reds' impressive win at Carrow Road, it wasn't a shock to see Manning's vice-captain immediately restored to the starting line-up.

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Despite dominating possession for parts of Saturday's game, City weren't able to produce the moment of quality needed to level things against the Clarets, with the best chance of the match falling to Yu Hirakawa who wasn't able to beat James Trafford after a heavy first touch left him with too much work to do.

Although some supporters were quick to voice their frustration with the lack of cutting-edge at the top end of the pitch, Dickie was quick to try and take the positives from another competitive performance against former Premier League opposition.

"We had one really good chance, it was more just the volume of really good balls that we got into their box," he said post-match. "We didn’t really get on the end of any, that’s what’s really disappointing and frustrating.

"I understand it’s the hardest thing to do in football. To be fair, I was up for a lot of it because we had a lot of free kicks and set pieces where I’ll look at it myself and maybe I could have got an the end of a few if I’d timed my runs better or something like that. At the end of the day, it’s where football counts is in the opposition box.

"They’ve just come down from the Premier League, this is a good team, they’re at the top end of the Championship and I guess that is the frustrating thing. We have played well, we’ve pinned them back and they were camped in towards the end of the game, but we’ve still come away with nothing, unfortunately. Good sides do that, they can soak up the pressure and keep you to a minimum. I know they’re a side that hasn’t conceded many goals this season but it’s just disappointing really with Yu Hirakawa’s chance and the volume of balls into their box, it’s disappointing to not at least get one."

The games come thick and fast for City between now and the turn of the year with Manning's side set to play eight more games in the five weeks including tough away trips to the likes of Sunderland and West Brom and home showdowns with Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town.

Tuesday night sees the Robins travel to Vicarage Road to face Watford who are yet to lose at home this season. A win over the Hornets would see Bristol City close the gap to Tom Cleverly's side to just one point and set them up well to make a genuine push for the playoff positions over the festive period.

Although Dickie recognises the coming weeks represent a chance for City to show that they are genuine challengers for the top six this term, he and his teammates are refusing to get ahead of themselves by taking each game as it comes.

"Of course, we want to pick up a lot of points over the next period and it’s a really good chance to do so because in the Championship if you pick up three wins in a row, your position in the table changes pretty drastically, that’s how tight it is," admitted the 28-year-old.

"But at the same time, we don’t want to lose track of the sort of short-term goals. We look at Watford and we just want to beat Watford, we can’t really afford to think too much about what’s after that. We have to focus on each game as it presents itself and try and win that game.

"We’re all ambitious and we want to break into the top six of this division and go from there. It is a club with potential, but there are 15 other teams in this division who want to break into that top six so we just have to keep each taking each game as it comes and improve and learn from every experience."

Although he has been an ever-present when fit since making the move to Ashton Gate last summer, some eyebrows were raised when the Robins opted to bring the 28-year-old to BS3 after he had struggled for form and consistency during his final season at Loftus Road.

Now, however, alongside Zak Vyner and Luke McNally the experienced defender has become one of City's most reliable players impacting proceedings both in and out of possession. While Dickie could reasonably take the majority of the credit for kickstarting his career, he was quick to laud Manning for the impact he has had on both him and the rest of his teammates.

"I think he [Manning] puts me in a position where I can impact the game a little bit more in possession rather than how I ended my time at QPR," the centre-back explained. "I think he gives me, because of the way we’re set up, a lot more options when I have the ball rather than it being a sort of off-the-cuff decision when I get the ball. We’re much more sort of strategic about where we want certain players on the pitch.

"The general standards and drive that we have with each other every day. We want to train at a really high level every day and it becomes a bit of a habit so that when we come out on a Saturday, we want to play at a high level.

"If we don’t, we demand it off of each other and that’s kind of what I think has been more of a change, that bit more clarity about what we want to do and get out of a game."

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