Am I Bothered?

John Ward has said that the speculation linking him to the Bristol City managers position last month did not bother him and ‘it hasn’t had a lasting effect on the way we have gone about our business’ with The Robins despite a poor run of five defeats in the last eight league games.

Ward, who occupied the managers job at City for 18 months in 1997-8, was tipped as Brian Tinnion’s replacement until they appointed Yeovil’s Gary Johnson.

Ward said: ‘It never bothered me at the time and it didn’t bother anybody else. It didn’t have an effect on how I prepared my team and it didn’t affect my players, not in the slightest. It still doesn’t bother me and it hasn’t had a lasting effect on the way we have gone about our business since. The players are more professional than that. I just feel we’ve been a little unlucky recently with results.’