Ill-discipline forces the Robins into the loan market

Stay calm and thank heavens the loan market is still open, to slightly adjust a pertinent phrase. Or at least that is what Bristol City manager Derek McIness will be saying as he tries to take advantage of the loan market, which opens on Wednesday and is available for football league clubs until the end of March.

McIness will be straight on the blower when he is given the green light on Wednesday after his resources were stripped bare, almost as quickly as RBS’ Stephen Hester’s credibility, thanks to two red cards in Saturday’s 0-3 home defeat to Leeds.

The Scottish manager will be bemoaning his luck after this heaped problems on top of an already swelled injury list, with Louis Carey and Lewin Nyatanga already missing with knocks.

The two devious souls who wanted out of the freezing-cold and into a premature warm shower on Saturday were James Wilson and Yannick Bolasie as the Robins slumped to defeat at Ashton Gate to leave them teetering above the relegation zone like a drunk-man on a window ledge, down in 20^th position.

Reinforcements to cover Wilson’s absence is a must for McIness as he suddenly struggling for options at centre-half and has just had to fast-rack the return from injury of Liam Fontaine. Even though the manager has stressed the need for defensive signings in recent weeks, he didn’t quite get round to doing it in January, so he will use the temporary option.

No names are clear on who exactly McIness is targeting, but the word is that the lonely hearts advert reads something like “big, strong and ball-winning” and it could be a return venture for Fulham’s young starlet Matthew Briggs, who he tried to tie away from Craven Cottage in January without success.

McIness has identified his need to enter the loan dealing window in time for the difficult, and long, trip to Hull as “paramount”, so expect some action in the arrivals corridor at Ashton Gate on Wednesday. Or any-time before Saturday.

@AdamGray1250