Having been laid up in bed with Covid for over a week, the thing that kept me going was the thought of getting a negative test in time for Wednesday’s game, but when that didn’t happen, I was left to the tender mercies of Sky’s red button.

The fact that it chose that evening to go completely haywire, with constant freezes and drops of picture quality to a level where I seemed to be watching an abstract painting come to life as formless blobs of colour moved across the screen, did nothing to lift my mood, although at least the result, if not the performance, did.

In a season that is crammed with wall-to-wall fixtures you would expect that an 11-day gap between games would be like manna from heaven to the players who would emerge refreshed and revitalised, yet that wasn’t the case at all.

The opening exchanges were littered with errors from both sides, but whereas the visitors spurned the chances that were offered to them, City were ruthless when presented with opportunities of their own.

There were concerns earlier in the season that Teemu Pukki might have lost a step, but now I’m wondering whether he has actually gone to another level. He is clearly back to his lethal best in front of goal, but his work off the ball adds so much to City’s build-up play, and while it’s tough on Josh Sargent to be pushed out to the right again, there is no doubt that the Finn remains the premier striker at Carrow Road.

Credit should go to Bristol City, who were undoubtedly the best team that City have faced so far, but Dean Smith will be unhappy with the two goals conceded, not least because they both put his side under pressure at times when they were largely in control of the game.

There is still a lack of balance to the side, with four right-footed defenders and no specialist holding midfielder, and that manifests itself in how hard City are finding it to play through opposition presses and also their vulnerability to the quick counter.

These are circumstances beyond Smith’s control, and he will undoubtedly be highly relieved when Isaac Hayden and Dimitris Giannoulis are fit again, but for the moment the problem is being managed effectively as six successive wins, against increasing more challenging opposition, testify.

However, the second Bristol goal was horrific and will give the manager nightmares.

I have no idea why Danel Sinani felt that with his right back out of action a pass into his own penalty area, rather than getting the ball as far away from goal as possible, was the right option, but for Marcelino Nunez to turn blind once he received it showed the naïve side of the Chilean’s game.

Nunez has been a revelation but there are times when he perhaps tries to do a little too much and overplays in dangerous areas.

I suspect that this is something that Hayden’s return will help with as Nunez is likely be more effective in a more advanced position whereas at present he’s almost doing two jobs.

And so, City find themselves a point off the top without ever getting into top gear, and there are two ways to look at this.

The first is that they are there by chance and will get found out sooner or later and the other is that under Smith they are less predictable and more rugged and can find a way to win, even if they are forced from their initial game plan.

Ultimately, I’d much rather see an ugly win than a pretty defeat, although I actually thought that Wednesday, albeit error strewn, was a very entertaining game of football.

Every win builds more confidence and while no manager will ever be universally popular, Smith deserves a lot of credit for the turnaround since Hull.