Benito Carbone has got to convince boss Nicky Law that he wants to play for Bradford City again.
The Italian is due back at Valley Parade on Wednesday as he tries to resurrect a permanent return to the big time.
But Law, who celebrated a 3-1 win over Portsmouth in his first league game in charge on Saturday, will only pick Carbone if he feels his attitude is spot-on.
Carbone flew back to Italy on Thursday to soften the blow of seeing Derby County pull the plug on his three-month loan without a full deal.
But Law does not expect the striker to come back to the Bantams feeling sorry for himself.
He said: "There's obviously a doubt about how he will react and I won't know that until I see the nature and way he goes about things.
"But I'm told that he's a great pro and hopefully he will come back in a positive frame of mind.
"If he does want to get away there's no point in him returning with a negative attitude.
"He's got to go out there and if and when he's in the team, he must show what he can do and then people can notice that.
"It goes without saying the better players you've got, the better chance you have of being successful.
"But you don't do it on ability alone - you have to have the workrate, commitment and
character that we've shown on Saturday."
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