--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-07-29T00:01:03.634Z last_updated: 2026-07-27T15:32:10+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/bristol-city/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnJpc3RvbHBvc3QuY28udWsvc3BvcnQvZm9vdGJhbGwvZm9vdGJhbGwtbmV3cy9ldmVyeS13b3JkLW1pY2hhZWwtc2t1YmFsYS1zYWlkLTExMDgwMzM3 --- # Every word Michael Skubala said after Swindon Town friendly - **Source:** - **Published:** 27 Jul - **Club:** Bristol City - **Original URL:** https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/every-word-michael-skubala-said-11080337 The new manager spoke as players got much-needed minutes as pre-season ramps up before the opening game in the Carabao Cup which is now just over a week away. Having fallen behind in the first half, the Robins were much better after the break as they turned things around, with two goals coming from new signing, Lorent Tolaj, the first of which came with his first touch of the ball after coming off the bench, before Jed Wallace grabbed a third. Here is everything Skubala said to BristolLive post-match “100%, having no injuries is the most important thing, they’ve had three hamstring injuries and that’s definitely not what you want in this situation, so we’ve had a good training week, which has been hard. “Across all the players across pre-season, if there are little niggles, maybe in training, out of training, I don’t want to risk players that are not quite right, and there are a couple of players who are not far off. On the first half struggles and how things improved “We tweaked a few things in the second half to get on top of them, but in the first half I learned a lot as well, I know we were 1-0 down, but in these games I want to learn about individuals, we had Dan Ezendu on the pitch for his first proper senior game for us, there are other guys in there who are new signings so the cohesion of the team isn’t quite right. “It takes time to get to know each other, and in the second half you saw a team that have played together for a bit longer, and they looked good together, but even in the second half there were things to work on. “Swindon have been excellent hosts, it’s a brilliant stadium, and I haven’t been here in about 20 years, it’s an excellent place to come, and I know there’s a bit of a rivalry, but I wish them all the best for the season and thank you for the friendly. On Jamie Knight-Label “Jamie Knight-Label is a super talent, winning Young Player of the Year in League Two as a centre-half is no easy feat. Most of those awards go to strikers, so it just goes to show his talent. “He’s got a bit of traffic in front of him, some really experienced centre-halves, so we need to do what’s right for him, but so far so good in this pre-season, and today it was good to see him get a good reception, and I thought first half he was very good. On Lorent Tolaj's goals “It’s a friendly, but it’s good for Tolaj to hit the back of the net, more than that I think the fans could see his all round game, how exciting he is, how powerful he is, and how much he wants to score, so hopefully we can help him to do that in the Championship. On more signings “We’ve not finished recruiting, but we’re into another phase, we’ve done quite a few signings early, I’m still learning lots about the players, they’re still learning lots about each other, but we are working hard for another one or two to strengthen the group. Join Bristol Rovers Live's Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol Rovers stories sent straight to your phone Bristol Rovers Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community. Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol Rovers news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone. To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team. We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like. To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Click here to join our WhatsApp community.