Steve Coppell believes Bristol City will be "right in the mix"

Bristol City manager Steve Coppell reckons the 2010-11 Championship campaign will be one of the most competitive on record.

The former Reading boss, named as Gary Johnson's replacement in April, told BBC Radio Bristol: "I look at the league and think it's so open.

"I would say this is one of the tightest Championships for many years with no real clear-cut favourites."

City report back for pre-season training on July 1.

In the meantime, Coppell has been sifting through DVD recordings of matches from last season, watching the performances of City players, as well as taking note of the opposition.

He acknowledges that the three clubs - Portsmouth, Hull and Burnley - who were relegated from the Premier League will be strong candidates in the race for promotion.

It's going to be very, very difficult and it will be interesting to see how the bookmakers place everything when the fixtures come out Bristol City manager Steve Coppell

But Coppell also believes there are plenty of other clubs who can mount a serious bid.

"Blackpool have given an incentive to so many teams in the division," he added.

"The teams who have come up, Norwich and Leeds, are big clubs and they'll be looking to challenge very quickly. Then there's those like Forest, Leicester and Cardiff, who just missed out last year.

"We're right in the mix with a lot of teams. It's going to be very, very difficult and it will be interesting to see how the bookmakers place everything when the fixtures come out."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version