Football Josh looked Championship class during Cambridge loan spell

WITH another Championship-less weekend done and dusted, we are now less than four weeks away from the return of second-tier domestic football in England and the start of Bristol City's league season.

- Dan CARTER

The Robins' preseason preparations are well underway now. Having returned to the High Performance Centre for testing a little more than two weeks ago, Gerhard Struber's side enjoyed a week of training at their Failand base and a week in the Algarve as they look to get up to speed so that they can hit the ground running against Sheffield United on August 9.

Last week's warm-weather training camp was capped off with a behind-closed-doors game against SC Farense, who compete in the Portuguese second division. The Robins ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a goal from Mark Sykes and a Yu Hirakawa brace, with the match split into three 30-minute sections to allow players to rest and rotate accordingly.

Now, the friendlies come thick and fast in the run-up to the new campaign. Struber's squad will have chances to impress the Austrian against Bournemouth, Newport County, Cheltenham Town, Plymouth Argyle and Real Valladolid as they try to win a place in the starting lineup at Bramall Lane.

Of course, as is often the case at this time of year, the majority of fans have been focused on the new signings and the potential impact they could have in red and white. The likes of Emil Riis and Adam Randell are expected to hit the ground running in BS3, while Joe Lumley looks set to be called into action early on following Max O'Leary's injury.