Gerhard Struber sets Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu brief to play bigger Bristol City role | Bristol Live

Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong are yet to start a Championship game under Gerhard Struber at Bristol City

Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu must be "very clear" and demonstrate a high level of determination when they get match minutes to play a more regular role for Bristol City, according to Gerhard Struber.

Having joined the Robins from QPR and Rapid Vienna respectively last summer, Armstrong and Mayulu have been unable to establish themselves as regular starters during their time at Ashton Gate. Though the former started 17 league games last term, scoring three goals, Mayulu has only ever made three Championship starts, the last of which came in December 2024.

The Frenchman spent the second half of last season on loan back in Austria with Sturm Graz, while Armstrong fell behind Nahki Wells in City's pecking order. This campaign, Emil Riis has established himself as Gerhard Struber's first-choice forward, with the pair - and Harry Cornick - offering alternative options from the bench and in the Carabao Cup.

All of Mayulu and Armstrong's league minutes this term have come as substitutes, including against Oxford United last time out, where they were introduced for the final three minutes as the Red looked for an equaliser. While Struber remains "in a good exchange" with both players, he knows they will have wanted to play a bigger role in the first month and a half of the season.

When asked how the pair of forwards could go from being impact players to playing a more significant role, the head coach said, "I think that they have, of course, and we did the last few weeks, many things with them, and we are very close on them that they grow in some directions.

"They have, at the moment, not the game time normally that they want, but on the same time, they must be very clear and with a high determination on the field when they get the chance to show something.

"In this way, we prepare everything in this way and we are in a very good exchange with players that have, at the moment, not so much game time, so that they can be for us, very successful when they get the chance to play.”

With City's Championship schedule stepping up a gear over the coming week or so ahead of the October international break, the likes of Mayulu, Armstrong, and others currently on the fringes of the starting line-up could get the chance they've been waiting for.

The Robins travel to Deepdale to face Preston North End on Saturday afternoon before welcoming Ipswich Town to Ashton Gate on Tuesday evening, their first Championship mid-week game of the season. That's followed by the visit of QPR on Saturday, October 4, to wrap up a run of three matches in eight days.

Of course, the Reds then have two weeks without a game, but given the physical demands of Struber's attacking style of football, rotation is to be expected over the course of the next three games.

“I think this is important, and in this way, we need every single player," the City boss explained. "That we have every single player available on a good fitness level, and I think the next few weeks could be games where we have to change a little bit.

"But now, and this was always my direction, to look at the next game and not so far away. So the next game makes the difference, and then we look at the next game.

"Of course, especially in our style and how we want to play, it’s important that we have a really good periodisation and players on the field who are fresh and ready for our playing identity. Rotation could help.”