Why Bristol City players have been at one another’s throats ahead of clash with Sheffield Wednesday

The left-sided player, who has been pushed back into the Robins’ defence in recent weeks, expressed his disappointment at a run of two home defeats that has seen his side fall from the Championship play-off places.

There were reports of a halt-time tunnel bust-up in last weekend’s defeat to Blackburn and Rowe, who moved to the Ashton Gate club from Wednesday’s south Yorkshire rivals Doncaster Rovers in the summer, admitted squad members have been at one another’s throats in an attempt to find a way through their slump.

“We're honest players,” he told the Bristol Post.

“We go and look at it to see what we've done wrong and we accept the criticism - and we have the arguments with each other. You've got to have the arguments because it shows that you care and you're not accepting losing.

“It's not that we lost - because we know we're going to lose games this season - it's the way we lose.”

Lee Johnson’s men narrowly missed out on play-off qualification last season, finishing eighth. And it’s their ‘honest’ changing room that the former Donny man believes will see them turn their form around.

City have lost only two of their 11 away matches in the league this season but travel to a Hillsborough stadium that is yet to see a league defeat for Garry Monk.

Rowe said: “Our vision is to be a top six side.

"And we will always push for that. But we go back to the Huddersfield game where we performed excellently and our intensity was there. It's difficult to put your finger on what actually it is just at the minute.

"We know that we've got it and we've seen it in games and we've seen it in great performances with lots of goals.

“We had two home games. We were fully expected to go out there and perform and get the result. And when we're below par of what we and the fans expect and the manager expects, then it hurts.

“So not for one moment will we accept it.”