"There are still players learning in there, but we know it's about winning football matches, and we know we have to learn quickly"

Bristol City were drawn into a "fight" that wasn't theirs to contest against Sheffield United, in the eyes of Michael Skubala, who has reflected on the "messy" meeting with the Blades while discussing the Robins' journey so far.

The Reds suffered their fifth home loss of the season, in all competitions, as they were beaten by Chris Wilder's side last weekend. In a game of very few chances, the Blades secured the points thanks to Ollie Arblaster's volley, early in the first half.

As a result of their defeat to United, City now find themselves on a run of three games without a win since the international break. Extrapolate that further, and Skubala's side have won only one of their last six matches, with that victory coming against a poor Watford side.

Such a run, and particularly the manner of the performance produced against the Blades, where the Robins managed a single shot on target, has caused frustration within the Reds support.

Almost a week on, Skubala's feelings are clear, even if he believes it is part and parcel of the project he and City are attempting to put together.

"We probably got drawn into a game that we didn't want to get drawn into," the Robins boss said, reflecting on the weekend's defeat. "We ended up playing a game, reflecting on it, that we didn't want to play.

"It was their style of game, and we needed to play more to our strengths. I thought we played sideways too much. We probably launched it into Dom too much, without getting people around him, so I thought we got caught in a fight that wasn't our fight.

"We want to be a team that plays fast and forward. We didn't do that well enough on Saturday.

"I don't like the word always, but I think we have to understand it's still a journey we're going on," Skubala continued. "It's a process, if you like, of integrating players - they have to know each other and their relationships - but I can't always pick the players I want to pick because of the situation with injuries and changes. It takes time.

"Those players [at Sheffield United] have been together for a long time. Some of the players at clubs that have come up have been together for a long time as a group. We've made a lot of signings that are still knitting and still growing.

"Not only are they getting to know each other, they're also getting to know how I want it to look, how I want it to be, and I don't think it looked like anything I wanted it to look like, the fans wanted it to look like, or even the players wanted it to look like on Saturday. That's the reality. But I will say against Blackburn, I thought we looked good. We didn't score, but it's more of what we wanted it to look like.

"We have to get back to a performance level of what we want the game to look like. It's really difficult, because you can be drawn into games that the opposition want, which is what happened on Saturday, but we keep learning, we keep driving forward, and we keep trying to improve."

Unlike the Blades' squad, Skubala's roster is not littered with vast second-tier experience. Put aside Elijah Adebayo, Brian De Keersmaecker, Brad Collins, Jed Wallace and Sam Greenwood, and the majority of City's summer signings had not stepped foot in the Championship prior to this season.

For Rio Cardines, the last few weeks have represented the first of his career in which he's played consistent senior football. Similarly, the likes of Gibson Yah and Lisav Eissat had not played in England before this summer, while the bulk of Sam Tickle, Lorent Tolaj and Dom Ballard's experience has come further down the EFL.

Such a set of facts, partnered with the absence of one or two key players, has, according to the Robins manager, had an impact since the international break. Skubala is, though, confident that with time and learning, a clearer identity will emerge.

"Sometimes, out there, the game looks easier than it is, and you need the experience," he explained. "Joe's [Williams] very experienced; the amount of games he's played at this level. Rob Dickie, who we've missed, is another one that's very experienced at that.

"We've got experience sprinkled around, and we've got some other young players that are starting to grow and learn that. It's about us taking control in those situations, as much as we can, and trying to control the game in certain ways. That will come. That will come with the group.

"They're still learning. They're still learning how we need it to look, how we want to play, and it can go wrong. When it goes wrong, it can look messy, and that was the reality of it.

"Every player in my eyes, in this club, is an exceptional player that's really good to work with, and they all bring something different," the Robins manager added. "The profiles are different, they offer something different, and for me, it's about them being the best versions of themselves and making sure we connect on the pitch very well.

"I thought we were a little bit disconnected on Saturday, in how we looked, but we can definitely get that through training and working together.

"Again, it's still a relatively new group; it's still a relatively new cohesion and building. We have to keep working on it hard."

As noted above, the performance against the Blades last weekend left a sour taste in the mouths of many of the supporters in attendance. Having been vocal in their support throughout the 90 minutes, some of the City faithful chose to boo, both at the final whistle and half-time.

As a football fan himself, and having watched the same hour and a half that preceded the full-time whistle as those supporters watching from the stands on Saturday afternoon, the Robins manager understood the reaction, even if patience is going to be an important part of this journey.

"I think fans pay their good money," Skubala told Bristol Live. "Fans want to see us winning at Ashton Gate, and I thought they were exceptional on Saturday. They got behind the team.

"I think we're not happy with that performance, the lads aren't happy with that performance, I'm not happy with that performance, because we've performed better than that, so I know we can be better than that this season. But you have these performances throughout the season.

"It's a difficult game of football. You have to go again, and this is the nature of the Championship.

"I'm a football supporter as well - I won't tell you who I support, because I'd be very impatient at the minute - but it's football, isn't it?" he continued. "We're in this business to win football matches; there's no doubt about that.

"But I always think I'm patient with their [players] development, because I know what development looks like. I know what players need to do to get there, and that's why I'm saying you can be patient with players and their development to see the best of them.

"We're patient, but we're also working hard knowing that we need to win football matches."

The Robins' next chance to get back to winning ways comes this weekend, when they will travel to the bet365 Stadium to face Stoke City.

Mark Robins' side come into the meeting with City on the back of a win over Derby County last time out, a result that means they have won six of their last eight league matches. That run has propelled the Potters up to sixth in the table, five points but 10 places clear of the Reds.

What, on paper, looks like it could be a challenging test for the Robins is one that Skubala and his playing group insist they are relishing. Though they may not be the finished article, they're adamant they are capable of claiming the points.

"We have to learn quickly; they are learning quickly, and they are improving," Skubala concluded. "There are still players learning in there, but we know it's about winning football matches, and we know we have to learn quickly, but I think the future is exciting.

"We're really excited about going to Stoke. They've started very well, but we always look at every game and think, if we can make it our feel, how we want to be and be us - and that us thing is still growing; how we want to look is still growing with all the lads - we think we're a match for anyone.

"We've shown that this season already."