'˜Refresh and respond' - How David Wagner expects his Huddersfield Town side to bounce back

Town had gone into Friday night’s clash at Ashton Gate looking to close the gap on the top two of Newcastle United and Brighton, who play at Leeds on Saturday evening.

The night got off to a bad start when midfielder Jonathan Hogg suffered a serious neck injury and had to be treated on the pitch for 14 minutes following a collision with team-mate Mark Hudson.

Hogg left the pitch on a stretcher and in a neck brace and was later taken to hospital where he underwent scans.

But Town head coach Wagner did not want to use that setback as an excuse for the defeat.

“Bristol City were strong and we under-performed,” he admitted.

“I have never spoken about automatic promotion and we now need to use the international break to refresh and respond to this result.

“We are in a very good position with nine games to go and we have been through too much together as a group for me to question my players.”

City went in front on the half hour when Hudson lost the ball under pressure from Tammy Abraham and Lee Tomlin advanced to round goalkeeper David Ward before shooting into an empty net.

England Under-21 striker Abraham met Dave Cotterill’s low cross from the right with a low first time finish from six yards to make it 2-0 just before the break.

City centre-back Aden Flint netted with an audacious flick from Gary O’Neil’s low ball into the box to make it three late on, with Cotterill’s penalty completing the scoring.

“This is part of the game, to have defeats,” added Wagner. “This was one we didn’t expect. This should not happen, but it does. It is important to get distance now.

“We had our opportunities, and we have be more clinical. Credit to Bristol City, though, they were aggressive and impressive.”

On Hogg’s condition, Wagner added: “Jonathan has a neck injury. He could talk, but he has had one scan at the hospital and needs another.”