How Gerhard Struber will set his Bristol City team up - they will "dominate" Championship matches | OneFootball

New Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber has dropped a big hint about how he would like his team to play next season.

New Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber has revealed that he is keen for his team to control and dominate games in the Championship next season.

Bristol City finished sixth in the table last season before suffering a record-breaking 6-0 aggregate defeat to Sheffield United in their play-off semi-final, and they had been on the hunt for a new head coach since Liam Manning departed to join Norwich City earlier this month, with the Canaries reportedly paying a compensation fee of around £800,000 to land his services.

Ex-Luton Town manager Rob Edwards was believed to be on the club's list of targets to replace Manning, but he is now set to take over at fellow second tier side Middlesbrough, and the Robins have instead appointed Struber, with the 48-year-old signing a three-year contract at Ashton Gate.

Struber's last managerial role came in Germany with FC Koln, where he was dismissed last month with just two games of the season remaining, despite his side sitting second in the 2. Bundesliga at the time, and the Billy Goats went on to secure the title after his exit.

The Austrian has also had spells in charge of FC Liefering, Wolfsberger AC, New York Red Bulls and RB Salzburg, while he has previously managed in the Championship with Barnsley between November 2019 and October 2020, successfully keeping the Tykes in the division in the 2019-20 season after a last-gasp win at Brentford on the final day of the campaign.

Gerhard Struber makes bold Bristol City claim after Ashton Gate arrival

After his appointment was announced on Thursday afternoon, Struber revealed that he is keen to play an attractive, attacking brand of football at Bristol City that will excite the Ashton Gate faithful, insisting that he wants his team to be aggressive and dominate games.

"I am very excited for the job here with great fans and a great team. I’m looking forward to a new task," Struber told the club's official website.

"The style of play here fits completely, especially developing young players.

"This is a very interesting group, and I think they did a great job last season and were very successful. Right now is the time to build and do everything we can to take us to the next level.

"The big responsibility is in the first team, to build, develop and create results but at the same time it is a duty to bring players from the local area and into the academy and give them a pathway to become a professional footballer at Bristol City.

"I like to play with high intensity on the field. We will control, we will dominate the game, and we’ll play attractive football for the fans.

"We need them [fans] behind us, we need them over the whole season and with us through the ups and downs. We need the twelfth man behind us to help us achieve and take the next step."

In his previous spell managing in the Championship, Struber inherited a Barnsley side that were struggling towards the bottom of the table, so getting results was his main priority, but with a better squad at his disposal and a full pre-season to implement his ideas, he will be able to play a more expansive style of football at Bristol City.

Struber certainly built a dominant side at FC Koln, with his side spending much of the season in the automatic promotion places in the 2. Bundesliga prior to his harsh dismissal, and if he can do the same at Ashton Gate, an exciting campaign could be ahead for the Robins.

It seems that Struber is completely aligned with the City hierarchy on the brand of football they are keen to see and the continued focus on developing young players, which has been one of the club's main strengths in recent years, and if he can deliver on his bold early promises, he could be the perfect man to build on Manning's impressive work.