Pulis keeps a level head despite Boro’s lofty position

Tony Pulis kept both feet firmly on the ground after watching his Sky Bet Championship table-toppers extend their impressive start to the season with a 2-0 win at Bristol City.

First half goals from Martin Braithwaite and Britt Assombalonga, allied to some well-organised and committed defending, were enough to see off a City side still seeking their first win of the campaign.

But the Boro boss knows it is very early days and continues to speak of the need to strengthen his squad for a concerted bid to return to the Premier League.

He explained: “We need to bring in more quality players for what is a hugely tough division.

“We have started OK but you are talking about playing three games a week 14 times over the course of the season.

“In the first half we restricted Bristol City to very little and scored two good goals.

“Braithwaite’s anticipation for the first was the sort of thing inborn in strikers, while Stewart Downing has done brilliantly for the second in standing the ball up at the far post.

“The second half saw City with nothing to lose and they deserve a lot of credit for throwing everything at us. The have some good players and a good young coach.

“But we had four or five opportunities on the break and, with a bit more quality, we could have played better final passes to create better chances.

“A third goal and the game would have been over, so there is food for thought for me there.”

Braithwaite capitalised on a bad error by City full-back Jack Hunt to shoot past Niki Maenpaa on 13 minutes and Assombalonga rose above Hunt at the far post to head home Downing’s tempting 32nd minute cross from the right.

The home side only really threatened in the closing stages and their luck was out as Eros Pisano, with a header, and Josh Brownhill, with a fierce shot, were denied by the crossbar.

It wasn’t enough to impress head coach Lee Johnson, who said: “I thought we deserved more from our previous two games, but that certainly wasn’t the case today.

“You have to start with the first goal, which was a joke from our perspective. I have watched it back and more than one player was at fault. It was so soft, it wasn’t true.

“We are patched up at the moment because of injuries. We had a right-back playing on the left and a young player in Lloyd Kelly, who did excellently, in the centre of defence.

“With four centre-backs out injured, we have to ride out this period. I think we may have to enter the loan market and I am sure there is scope for me to do that.

“What we saw today wasn’t a Lee Johnson team. When we were at our best last season we had a strong platform at the back and everything else goes from there.

“Today we didn’t have that and nothing else really matters. We played some OK football but whatever happens over the rest of the pitch doesn’t matter if you don’t defend properly.”

It was a sweet result for Boro centre-back Aden Flint, returning to Ashton Gate for the first time since his £7million summer move.

Pulis said: “The timing of that deal was everything. The way the market went, I reckon two weeks later we would have had to pay four or five million more.”