Bradford City 4, Rotherham United 2: Other managers had better watch what they say in future because Nicky Law is looking out for every word.

Some football bosses like to claim they never read the papers - if you believe that.

In Law's case it couldn't be further from the truth. The Bantams boss makes sure he knows everything that is going on - and his pre-match preparations regularly include a scan of the opposition's local rag.

It certainly helps with the team-talk in the dressing room as George Burley and now Rotherham's Ronnie Moore have found out to their cost. In their case, loose talk costs points.

Mind you, at least Burley kept his thoughts to the Ipswich public. Moore has been spouting off against City to all and sundry this summer.

Remember, this was the guy who wanted the Bantams booted out. The home fans certainly didn't forget his insults as they made their feelings abundantly clear at Valley Parade on Saturday.

And Law's reaction to City's second win in a week showed just how much Moore had got under his skin.

Law said: "You should be careful in what you say and careful in your criticism because it comes back to bite you.

"I remember reading in a paper not long ago Ronnie Moore was saying that we should be kicked out, and it was a disgrace what we have done.

"At the end of the day, Ronnie, it was nothing to do with the players or myself, it was a situation that arose and it was out of our hands. You just have to keep quiet sometimes, and keep your head down and just get on with your job.

"Of course I reminded the players about it before the game. You don't need to give team talks when people are saying things like that because it spurs you on.

"It was like on Monday night when we went to Ipswich. I picked up the local paper there and George Burley is in it saying they were going to win the league and score 100 goals.

"We were going to be the whipping boys then and a lot of people also thought we'd get beaten on Saturday. But the incentive was there for us to win and we went out and did the job."

There was one major difference from two very satisfying results. The City team that condemned Rotherham to their first defeat of the season had just been paid.

After four months of waiting, a wage packet finally hit the bank 24 hours before kick-off.

But the hunger on the pitch that had been sustained during the club's darkest hours remained reassuringly just as evident. There was no hint of anyone losing that edge forged from the adversity of recent times.

"They have done it for the last six games having not been paid for 18 weeks and they've put that in again," said a delighted manager. "They haven't eased off, thinking it's all right now, having been paid.

"Rotherham came here in second place and they weren't up there by freak luck. But I thought we made them look ordinary."

City deserved their latest win which has catapulted them into the bright lights of the top half of the fledgling First Division. Apart from ten minutes of the shakes when Rotherham cut the lead from three goals to one, they were far the better side in a Yorkshire derby that boiled up nicely after a slow start.

It was encouraging to see lively individual performances at both ends of the pitch.

At the back there was the energetic Gus Uhlenbeek, who seemed to pop up just about everywhere, including the right place at the right time to slam home City's second goal.

Alongside him, the latest centre-halves pairing of Robert Molenaar and Mark Bower refused to shirk from the muck and bullets approach that typifies the Rotherham way. Early arrivals to Valley Parade watched Molenaar going through his paces in a vigorous fitness test with physio Steve Redmond.

The Dutchman still felt far from perfect but, with Andy Tod joining the swelling ranks of the club's casualties, Law had nobody else to play on that right side. Molenaar responded to the call and threw himself whole-heartedly into the thick of it alongside young Bower, who chalked up another belter to a growing list of impressive outings.

But Rotherham's biggest problems came from City's front two.

Michael Proctor's arrival from Sunderland has put a new spring in the step of Ashley Ward. It's early days yet but the big targetman - so often a forlorn figure as he fights outnumbered for crosses and high balls - clearly loves having a partner to share the load.

Ward and Proctor have hit it off quickly. And after the pair claimed three of the four goals on Saturday, skipper Ward said: "We've got a good understanding building up already.

"Playing with a partner does make a difference. Danny (Cadamarteri) has been asked to play wide most of the season and track back a bit which makes it difficult for him to get alongside me.

"He's worked terrifically hard out wide but I'm sure Danny would have liked to be playing up front. It's such a help to have another player up there to give you more options."

Rotherham couldn't handle the deadly duo once shaky goalkeeper Mike Pollitt had drifted into no man's land to allow Ward to break the stalemate with his first goal since Cadamarteri's debut at Gillingham in February.

City turned up the heat straight after the interval as Uhlenbeek galloped upfield to score and then Proctor finished off some spinning trickery from the rejuvenated Ward.

A deluge of goals were expected but Ward somehow contrived to miss a sitter after Uhlenbeek had squared across a virtually empty goal.

It suddenly became a costly miss when Rotherham substitutes Richie Barker and Mark Robins slashed the deficit and Robins was only a shoe size away from sliding in the equaliser.

But Pollitt fumbled a low shot from Cadamarteri and Ward bundled the rebound over the line to ensure City's best week for a long, long time was promised a happy ending.