Source: PA
Coppell has his work cut out
Steve Coppell admitted his Bristol City side have an awful lot of improving to do after they succumbed to a 3-0 home defeat to Millwall in their npower Championship opener at Ashton Gate.
England goalkeeper David James endured a miserable debut for the Robins as they were ripped apart by the newly-promoted Londoners in the second half and Coppell's long injury list was added to when striker Sam Vokes, on loan from Wolves, was carried off just 13 minutes after going on as a second-half substitute.
James had to pick the ball out of his net three times but had no chance with the goals from Darren Ward, Danny Schofield and Paul Robinson. The new signing prevented a fourth with a superb point-blank save from James Henry. Both teams finished with 10 men as Millwall's Darren Carter and City's Damion Stewart were dismissed in the second period for two bookable fouls.
A shell-shocked Coppell said: "I made it clear before the game that I would be as interested as anyone to see where we were because we have had to make so many changes in our pre-season games.
"The way the match went was an indication that we have an awful lot of work to do to be competitive in the Championship. I am not going to make injuries an excuse. We had 11 players out there raring to go, but they were not able to put in the required performance. It's always a concern when you lose a game 3-0. There are a lot of areas in which we can improve.
"David James has only trained with us for a week, yet he made one fantastic save, his distribution was good and he came for crosses well as you would expect."
