No pressure but we need a little luck, says Cotterill

  • by Staff Writer
  • Friday, 23rd January 2015

Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill believes his team can beat West Ham when the two teams meet at Ashton Gate this Sunday - but only with a major slice of luck.

Cotterill, who has been in charge of the Robins since December 2013 has taken his team to the upper echelons of League One this season, with City currently lying second in the table behind leaders Swindon.

However he accepted that this weekend's challenge would be considerable more difficult that any he has faced elsewhere this season.

"We know we have to play to our maximum and potentially they have to have an off-day," Cotterill told bcfc.co.uk. "We may need a little bit of luck, we know that, but these things can happen in the FA Cup.

"All in all it’s going to be a really good occasion and hopefully we can play well. When you’re playing against Premier League teams I think they will let you play because they play. I imagine it’ll be a good game, or at least I hope it will be."

City - who will almost certainly be missing Aaron Wilbraham (hip), Kieran Agard (ankle) and James Tavernier (Cup-tied) go into the game having won 10 or their last 12 outings, with just the one solitary defeat during that run - a 1-0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra on 20 December.

They reached the fourth round of the competition courtesy of wins against Gillingham (2-1 away), Telford (1-0) and Doncaster (2-0 in a reply following a 1-1 draw in the first tie).

"Every time there’s been an FA Cup tie we’ve tried our best," continued Cotterill. "Thankfully we’ve made it through a couple of tough games against Doncaster Rovers to get a shot at a Premier League side.

"I wanted that opportunity for the players to test themselves against Premier League players. They will learn something in this game."

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