CITY suffered their first league defeat under caretaker manager John Pemberton on Saturday, going down 1-0 to Leeds United at Elland Road.

Neither side created many chances in a turgid first half, with Leeds manager Steve Evans saying after the game that he would have preferred a visit to the dentist than watch it again!

In the second period things did liven up, though unfortunately for City that meant the home side taking the lead through Doukara in the 59th minute.

But City spurned several decent chances after going a goal down, the best of which fell to defender Aden Flint late on with the former Swindon man heading wide from close-range.

This was another frustrating result that leaves City in the Championship relegation zone with just 18 games of the season left.

On the positive, we are only one and two points behind Rotherham and MK Dons, respectively and there are still plenty of points to play for.

We play MK Dons away next month and host Rotherham in April – both will be huge games.

Meanwhile, off the field City’s search for a new head coach/manager continues.

Pemberton remains the bookies favourite with other candidates including Garry Monk, Neil Warnock, Steve Clarke and Tim Sherwood.

At this point in time, it would not surprise me if Pemberton is given the job until the rest of the season. This appointment would provide some continuity and not unsettle the team too much.

Bringing in a completely new manager would risk unsettling things and, with just 18 games to go, I’m doubtful of the short-term impact a new boss would have.

That said, like any appointment, it is a risk and if we went down with Pemberton in charge, then I think the board would come in for a fair bit of stick having sacked Cotterill halfway through a transfer window with no replacement ready.

A higher priority at the moment is signing some players and we seem to be hitting brick walls at the moment.