BRADFORD City hope to be able to get hold of more FA Cup tickets for fans who missed out when they were snapped up within hours.

The club last night confirmed they had asked Chelsea if any more tickets are available for the fourth round tie at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

And they are also trying to collect further numbers through returns from sponsors, players, bounce backs or transactions which did not complete.

The move comes as the club continues to face criticism about the allocation of the tickets which led to people queuing for hours at Valley Parade last Saturday.

One season-ticket holder has written an open letter to the club's board about the way the matter was handled and Mike Thompson, chairman of the Bradford City Supporters Trust, admitted the issue is "not an easy one to resolve".

Gary Thornton, a season ticket holder for 25 years, said the way the club had decided to allocate tickets - giving first option to away priority card holders, then season-ticket and flexi-card holders who attended the third-round home replay with Millwall - had been "perfectly reasonable," until fans were told the online system could not match the purchase of tickets for the Millwall game with season tickets.

He said fans were then given the option of either going to the ground to queue, or e-mailing the club with proof they definitely had season tickets and Millwall ticket stubs.

"Both of these were not good options to be discovered at the 11th hour, and were a direct result of the club announcing a priority system without first checking that the system could actually deal with it," said Mr Thornton.

"This is a fairly simple thing that should not have happened.

"It was nothing to do with demand, because even when fans connected to the online system it allowed us to do everything but pay, because of the reconciliation issue.

"Also, the club could, and should, have made provisions so fans were dealt with effectively rather than letting us stand for hours in the cold and snow."

Despite the glitches with the online system, Mr Thompson said the club should be looking to use technology as a way forward for allocating tickets to more popular games.

"As I understand it, the problem was reconciling Millwall ticket stubs with season tickets," he said.

"There is no reason the club would go out to upset people, but there are lessons to be learned about how that information is logged.

"I think in this day and age, we should be looking to encourage fans to be ordering online.

"If you get stuck in a queue, that is the nature of the beast, but at least it's the same for everyone and can be done in the comfort of your own home.

"The club could put out some information on the online system so those people who may be daunted about using it know what to expect.

"The more people who were able to order online, the easier it would be for everyone."