CITY and Burton Albion played out what was, in truth, a pretty dour 0-0 draw at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.

Backed by a sold-out away end of 1,741 supporters, the City players once again struggled to impose themselves on the opposition.

I’ve been so disappointed with our recent away performances, particularly at Bolton, Cardiff, Preston and now Burton.

It seems hard to believe now but, at the beginning of the season, we lost just once in 13 away games.

Now we can’t buy a win on the road. The players seem to lack belief and look like they’re going through the motions as a long season comes to a close.

I think we can now say definitively that our Carabao Cup exploits, as fantastic and enjoyable as they were, have come at a cost.

Our league form and performances since then have not come close to reaching the heights of outplaying Manchester United or giving their rivals City as good a run for their money as any team in the Premier League has all season.

This is now a jaded squad that desperately needed bolstering in the January transfer window, but sadly the three signings made have been ineffectual. Supporters live in hope that the players will find a second wind.

We are only three points behind sixth placed Middlesbrough but we need to put a run together now.

With just nine games to go we need to win five of them to stand a chance of making the play-offs. A decent opportunity for victory presents itself this Saturday as Ipswich Town visit Ashton Gate (3pm).

We comfortably beat the Tractor Boys 3-1 at Portman Road earlier in the season and the club have been treading water in mid-table for most of the season.

Our recent performances at Ashton Gate have actually been decent so here’s hoping we can get a win that will set up a grandstand finish to the season.