Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill has admitted that his team were made to work for their victory at home to Rochdale this afternoon.

Aaron Wilbraham's first-half strike was enough for the League One leaders to move eight points clear of the chasing pack, but Cotterill has conceded that City had to fight for their win.

He is quoted by the club's official Twitter page as saying: "We had to dig in. We knew it would be like that today. They're a good team, I've said it all along. I thought we looked a bit tired today.

"That's a big three points today. To be on 70 points by the end of February is magnificent. They always score away from home but we've managed to stop that and get the clean sheet."

City now travel to London on Tuesday to face relegation-threatened Leyton Orient.