Gary Locke has been tipped to silence his Bradford City critics in the crowd - by winning a place in the Scotland team.

City boss Jim Jefferies is so confident that Locke will reveal his true form in Division One, he has struck a bet with chairman Geoffrey Richmond that the utility man will get the international call.

The 25-year-old, formerly Scottish under-21s captain while at Hearts, has had a stop-start first few months at Valley Parade and missed six weeks with a broken hand.

Jefferies said: "It's not been easy for him coming down here in our situation and having to adapt. It takes time but some people are questioning him already.

"But no player is going to suddenly arrive and make an immediate impact when you are bottom of the league.

"I've no doubts about him and, fingers crossed, if he steers clear of injuries then he will show the Bradford public what a good player he is.

"He was a terrific player as a youngster before he suffered a long-term knee injury. He came through the ranks with Scotland at under-18s and then under-21s. If he gets a regular run then he's got a chance of making it into their squad because they always tend to look closely at who they have brought through and how they are progressing."

Locke, who heads off to Cyprus today for a two-week break, said: "I was on the fringe of the full Scotland team before the knee problem.

"Everything was looking really rosy and I was playing the best football of my career.

"But I've had no problems with the knee since and now the hand has been cleared up, I can't wait for the new season to get a run of games in.

"I was just finding my feet here when I broke the bone but now I'm fine and looking to show the Bradford fans that I'm a good player. The First Division in England is as good if not better than the Scottish Premier and there are some cracking sides about.

"But if we can get in a couple of new faces and knuckle down, then I'm very hopeful."

Jefferies turned down a £1.25 million offer from Coventry at Tynecastle when Locke was 19 and said: "Another Premiership manager recently told me he had been interested and Gary could have had his pick from three or four teams in Scotland."

He added: "Gary's still adapting to the English game because of a lack of games. But once he has settled in to a run, he will make a big difference for us."