'I've learned a lot' - Michael Skubala disappointed after Bristol City's 'frustrating' cup exit

"I've learned a lot about different players in different moments. Pre-season is great, but this feels like a step up"

Michael Skubala feels he's "learned a lot" about his Bristol City squad after their defeat to Walsall, with the Robins boss branding his first competitive outing in the Ashton Gate dugout a "frustrating" and "disappointing" night.

The Reds kicked off their season and Skubala's tenure with a 1-0 defeat to the Saddlers at Ashton Gate on Thursday evening. In a tight tie, Aaron Pressley's goal early in the second half proved enough for Lee Grant's side to knock City out of the Carabao Cup.

Just two minutes after the restart, the 24-year-old steered Reece Smith's cross from the left wing beyond the reach of Sam Tickle and into the back of the net to kickstart the celebrations amongst the travelling fans. While the Robins rallied, they were unable to find a leveller.

OPINION

Though the result and the manner in which City fell behind irritated Skubala, who took charge of the Reds a little over two months ago, he felt there were still some positives to take from the disappointing curtain-raiser.

"We didn't quite have enough to score that goal," the Robins manager explained. "We had lots of chances, lots of entries. [It's] A frustrating night, a disappointing night because I thought we could have done a little bit better in the first half, [when] we were a bit slow with the ball.

"Five minutes cost us with some poor decision-making, I think, in our own area, but after that, I thought we moved the ball well. We created a lot of chances, but just not enough to score that goal.

"There were some good things," he continued. "It sounds crazy, but when we were 1-0 down, we started to move the ball very quickly through the lines, and we started to play quickly, started to switch quickly, so I know it's in there, [and] that pleases me a lot.

"At times we had some good little patterns, and we created a couple of chances in the first half that we didn't put away. I thought Sam Tickle made some incredible saves, so there are some positives in there when you dig deep, but I'm really disappointed to lose the game.

"I'm really disappointed that a couple of moments have cost us."

Since his appointment as Reds manager in late May, Skubala has overseen vast changes to the playing group at Ashton Gate, alongside sporting director James Ellis and chief executive Charlie Boss.

So far, eight new signings have arrived at Ashton Gate this summer, five of whom - Tickle, Lisav Eissat, Jed Wallace, Sam Greenwood and Lorent Tolaj - started against the Saddlers. The other three new faces - Dom Ballard, Gibson Yah and Brad Collins - were named amongst the substitutes.

Naturally, the sheer number of alterations, both on and off the pitch, over the course of the last six months have meant that the 43-year-old and his squad are still getting to grips with one another. After a busy pre-season, Thursday night taught Skubala a little bit more about the roster of individuals at his disposal.

"I've learned a lot today," the City manager told Bristol Live. "I've learned a lot about different players in different moments. Pre-season is great, but this feels like a step up for the guys.

"We're disappointed to lose the game, and we shouldn't lose the game, but I've learned a lot about the players tonight.

"You learn about how we need to be more disciplined in both boxes, because the game is won and lost in both boxes," he continued. "I thought we put ourselves under pressure that we didn't need to in a moment that we were a little bit sloppy.

"Then, when we got the final third, we huffed and puffed a little bit, but didn't quite make the final action or put the goalkeeper under enough pressure. Saying that, he made some big saves. On another day, we had a few crawl on the goal line in the first half and second half.

"There were some balls across the box that we didn't get on the end of, and that's probably why the frustration is there, because you can create a lot; it doesn't have to be perfect, but we probably should have scored a goal."