Riis involved, Twine spotted and 'merciless' Struber - What we noticed in Bristol City training | Bristol Live

Bristol City have shared a glimpse of the Robins' pre-season training sessions with the latest edition of Robins Uncut

While the Bristol City squad returned for testing at the Robins High Performance Centre late last week, preparations for the new campaign have stepped up a gear over the last few days as the Gerhard Struber era truly gets underway in south Bristol.

The Robins may not play their first friendly for another two weeks or so, when they travel to the South Coast to face Bournemouth behind closed doors, and the start of the Championship season remains more than a month away, but both players and staff are hard at work to make sure they hit the ground running in that opening day clash with Sheffield United.

For Struber's squad, last week would have consisted of fitness tests, including the dreaded Bronco, in an attempt to gauge where exactly the players are after a bit of a break over the off-season. With that out of the way, they can now get back outside and onto the Failand training pitches to begin working with a ball at their feet.

Of course, so much of what goes on at the HPC is not for supporters' eyes, but City's media team have offered us a glimpse of what is unfolding with the latest addition of Robins Uncut.

Having enjoyed the latest edition, here are some of the main things we picked out...

Gerhard Struber's chaos

We mentioned in the piece we published earlier this week, which dissected the 'testing' edition of Robins Uncut, that the first couple of days at the HPC will have likely offered Gerhard Struber a chance to observe and get to know his new players, without having too much of an involvement in proceedings.

It is safe to say that has changed this week as the new head coach is front and centre of so much of the Reds' latest offering. In Struber, the Robins have appointed a very much 'on the grass' coach with the Austrian running drills, alongside his assistant Bernd Eibler, and instructing players over the course of the nearly 13-minute-long video.

The stand-out moment, however, and one that has already drawn a lot of attention on social media, comes when Struber delivers an impressive speech to his squad discussing the importance of transition moments in a way that provides a glimpse into how he wants his team to play.

"Transition, transition moments, let me know from your standpoint, what is important?" the City boss asked.

After answers from Rob Dickie, Harry Cornick, Ross McCrorie - whose Scottish accent left Struber rather confused - and Scott Twine, he continued: "Realise boys, is the opponent agonised or is something open? Is he in a chaos boys?

"We have to realise that and if he is in a chaos, why should we wait? That's the moment to kill him. Then, of course, we need bravery, we need vertical passes, we need players that can drive with the ball and in these moments boys, you can feel super free.

"It's not that you think, 'Oh what I make a mistake or something?' We do what we feel in this moment and this is where we kill them very direct. Merciless moments boys yeah?

"This is what I like to see and at the end, of course boys, we have to score. Use the moments, use the chances, this makes life so much easier."

Emil Riis' first steps

Since the last episode of Robins Uncut was released over the weekend, the Reds have been active in the transfer market. While they have only made one further signing, having already confirmed the arrival of Adam Randell and Joe Lumley prior to testing, it was probably their biggest of the summer so far.

Monday evening saw City announce Emil Riis as a Robin, with the forward putting pen to paper on a three-year contract at Ashton Gate, having opted against extending his stay at Preston North End. Given the timing of his move, the Dane has been put straight to work alongside his new teammates.

After being shown kitting up in the changing room, the 27-year-old can be seen making his way out onto the training pitch with Bernd Eibler. Following a short passing drill with Scott Twine, Gerhard Struber can be heard shouting "good run Emil" while a group of players compete in what appears to be a small-sided game.

Alongside the rest of his new teammates, Riis then takes part in a training match where his side are facing fellow new signing Lumley between the posts. Although supporters don't get to see loads of their new centre-forward in action, it will have been good to get a glimpse of him kicking a ball in City colours for the first time.

Scott Twine spotted

After the initial pre-season testing photos landed and the first edition of Robins Uncut were shared, there were one or two Bristol City fans raising concerns and asking questions about the whereabouts of Scott Twine.

Although the access provided by the media team offers a window into the behind-the-scenes action, it doesn't show each and every second of training, so it was unclear whether or not the attacking midfielder was involved.

The fact that Liam Manning confirmed towards the end of last season that the former Burnley man was nursing a groin injury that would require surgery in the summer led some supporters to speculate that Twine could be set to miss the start of pre-season as part of his recovery.

That speculation can now be put to bed because, as we've mentioned multiple times above, Twine is very much present in this latest look behind the curtain.

The 25-year-old completes a short passing drill with Emil Riis, answers Struber's question about how to approach transition moments, can be seen completing shuttle runs alongside his teammates and even lets a shot or two fly during the small-sided matches.

Hopefully, having made his move to Ashton Gate permanent so late in last summer's transfer window, Twine will be able to get a full City pre-season under his belt to hit the ground running when August and the Championship campaign roll around.

He showed hints of what he is capable of in his first full season as a Robin and will be keen to deliver on a more consistent basis this time around.

Adam Murphy involved

This may be one thing that slipped under the radar, given the focus on both Gerhard Struber's coaching and the first sighting of the new signings in action, but Adam Murphy is one of a few younger players seen training with the first-team squad in this week's Robins Uncut.

The Ireland youth international joined the Reds from St Patrick's Athletic in January 2024, putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year deal, with the option to extend for an additional season.

Despite travelling to Portugal for last summer's pre-season training camp, the midfielder is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Robins, with injuries having a major impact on his time in BS3 so far.

In the second half of last season, it looked as though Murphy had begun to shake those fitness issues as he was a consistent fixture of City Under-21s' midfield. However, Liam Manning told Bristol Live in February that the 20-year-old was training with the Under-21s rather than the first team as he looked to build both his fitness and confidence.

It looks, however, as though the versatile midfielder now has the chance to impress Gerhard Struber this summer. Murphy can be seen doing some dynamic stretching with both Josh Stokes and Sinclair Armstrong early in the latest training video before taking part in the small-sided game later in training.

Various players can be heard shouting, "Murph" during the compilation of the matches, and the 20-year-old even appears to stab a shot past Joe Lumley and into the back of the net after some smart work from Stokes.

It will be interesting to see what Struber has planned for Murphy over both the remainder of the summer and the new season. Only time will tell just how present he is in the head coach's plans for the upcoming campaign.