'Fans want more ambition from City owners'

City chalked up the expected victory against Championship basement club Sheffield Wednesday at the weeken, but the atmosphere among the crowd was tense, particularly during the first half.

Why was this so for a side that would have finished the day in sixth position were it not for Wrexham's last-minute winner at QPR?

The fans were restless because, in their eyes, the club's hierarchy is showing zero ambition in investing in the squad to secure a play-off spot and go a step further than last season's creditable achievement, even though it ended in disappointment.

The restlessness is fuelled by the fact the club have had an £11m windfall by way of a profit share following Antoine Semenyo's move from Bournemouth to Manchester City.

There was also the boost of an unexpected £3.5m following Anis Mehmeti's move to Ipswich less than 48 hours after he had played against them in City's defeat at Portman Road.

The Albanian is out of contract in June and City could have found themselves receiving no income if he departed in the summer in such circumstances.

In addition to Mehmeti leaving, a further seven players have come off the weekly wage bill since Christmas with a number of loan moves.

Few fans would shed tears over any of the departures, such has been their impact on the pitch in a season that is over two-thirds complete.

Perhaps one exception was long-serving goalkeeper Max O'Leary, although on his debut for West Brom on Friday night, his error showed why perhaps an upgrade in this position was needed and has been so ably demonstrated by the impressive Manchester United loanee Radek Vitek.

With the transfer window open for just another seven days, all eyes are now on those in charge at Ashton Gate to see if they support Gerhard Struber, who is trying to be as tactful as possible in expressing his desire for reinforcements in the media.

Struber is still without long-term absentees Luke McNally, Max Bird and Joe Williams.

And following Mehmeti's departure, Struber might be ruing sanctioning both the Yu Hirakawa and Josh Stokes loan moves.

He certainly needs no fewer than two players who are ready for Championship football, not punts like Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu clearly were.

One of the goalscorers on Saturday was Sam Bell. Recalled from his moderately successful loan spell at Wycombe, he showed composure with his finish that condemned Wednesday to defeat and a general level of energy such that it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he were offered a new contract when we all thought he would be released in June.

One thing from Saturday's game that is worthy of mention is the applause from all around the stadium as Wednesday and City fans alike gave as Barry Bannan left the field.

Bannan has been a loyal player for more than 10 years at the Sheffield club and seems likely to be joining Millwall in the final phase of his career.

He always seemed to play well against us and was a player we may have coveted over the years. I think that applause from the City fans was a recognition of that.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast, external