Nigel Pearson says he is "not bothered" by the vocal criticism directed at him after a section of fans vented their frustrations inside a hostile Ashton Gate following defeat at home to West Brom.
The Robins got off to the worst possible start when Matt Phillips opened the scoring after just nine minutes. Moments after Tommy Conway saw an effort saved, he capitalised on a lapse of concentration between Zak Vyner and Andi Weimann, burst into the area and finished beyond Max O'Leary.
Barring a 15-minute spell towards the end of the first half, City were second best for large periods and any hope of a comeback were extinguished when Brandon Thomas-Asante brilliantly beat Max O'Leary from distance.
Moments after making a double change that saw Kal Naismith move into midfield after George Tanner's introduction, a ball through the lines found the West Brom forward who brilliantly looped it over the City keeper from distance in the 75th minute.
It sparked a frustrated reaction from the home crowd with audible chants of "you don't know what you're doing" and "we want Nigel Pearson out." The defeat left City two points above the drop zone following a run of three wins in their last 17 games in all competitions.
When asked if that was his most testing day as manager of City, he said: "No, not really. If you're alluding to the reaction from our fans then that's part of football, I'm afraid. Our young players have really only experienced the positive aspects of football so far.
"What it does, it creates a situation where it will test very much the resolve of who's onside and who's not. Simple as that.
"Our fans are entitled to their opinions but what is important is that they stay behind their team. It's never going to be beneficial to have a negative reaction. If they want to have a go at me, they can have a go at me. It's important our team stays together, it's as simple as that.
"I've had that before. I've had that at some point in every club I've been at. People have their opinions and they can do what they want. It's fine.
"So today my first reflection is, ‘they’re a good side.’ It’s not about picking the bones out of that, you can always do that with your own side, but today we came up against a side who are actually, they’re on 32 points now.
"They’re actually now getting the best out of their own players, but when we played them at their place, we beat them 2-0 comfortably on the night because they had players that were coasting, and they weren’t getting the best out of their players, so it depends how you want to look at it.
"It depends on what the criteria it’s based on. If it’s about having a go at one person, if that’s me, fine. It doesn’t bother me; I’ve been booed off bigger stadiums.
"We'll see how we are tomorrow because the bottom line is this, how people see the game compared to or how they feel emotionally about it, I try and keep things in context. We played against a side who were better than us today. In the first half in particular, we caused them problems.
"How people view the game is up to them. I have to keep a more pragmatic view of it. That's my job. I'm a football manager, I'm not a football fan. I'm a football manager.
"Our fans are entitled to their opinions but what is important is that they stay behind their team. It's never going to be beneficial to have a negative reaction. If they want to have a go at me, they can have a go at me. It's important our team stays together, it's as simple as that.
The fixture list doesn't get any easier for Pearson and City. A trip away to Millwall follows, a side notoriously good at home, before facing Coventry on New Year's Day.
When asked whether the result and performance could damage the confidence of the side, he added: "Yea, it could do.
"I think we will be fine but the bottom line is that I've been brought here to do a job. Affecting change is something which makes people feel uncomfortable. It is what it is."
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