Jamie Paterson has suddenly become an unlikely hero at Ashton Gate, writes Graham Ford.

He scored the winner in a hard fought 1-0 victory at Reading on Tuesday night, his second goal since returning from a largely disappointing loan at Derby . This has not only enhanced his reputation but has unexpectedly given Lee Johnson a much improved addition to his squad . City have now won 4 out of 5 League games. They have firmly put the disappointment of missing out on a crack at Liverpool in the cup behind them and are showing the focus needed to make a genuine assault on the playoffs. They now lie 6th. There was some frantic defending in the final minutes at Reading as they soaked up everything the home side could throw at them . At last they are beginning to register clean sheets . Given they don't have a prolific goal scorer this is vital . This has been achieved without Kalas. The expensive defender has had a mixed season with injury and will now have to fight to get his place back in this defence.

By the close of the transfer window I hope we see a couple of new faces, especially a striker. I expect a couple of departures. That's just the nature of things as City try to balance the books. The rumour mill runs riot and I pay little attention to it . Good players are hard to bring in and sides with bigger budgets often beat City to the signature. It's always difficult to get players to move to the West Country . Interestingly Bristol Bears have no such issue with some of the best players in the world signing as they see the rugby heritage . If only .....

City travel to QPR on Saturday . A huge number of us will be travelling again buoyed by the return to form . The home side have lost striker Wells, recalled by Burnley. Their budget does not stretch to signing him . It would be a huge boost for everyone at Ashton Gate if he emerged from the tunnel wearing a red shirt on Saturday. A confident City can bring home the points and set themselves up for a busy February which will define the season.