David Wetherall will never forget his goal that kept Bradford City in the Premiership - nor will thousands of City fans.

The 12th minute header that gave City their crucial 1-0 win over Liverpool in that last match of last season will always have an honoured place in the club's history.

Wetherall, who joined City from Leeds United 12 months ago for a bargain £1.4m, said: "The goal will always stay in my memory. It was a special day for everyone concerned with the club. It was nice to score a goal, but it was also nice to be part of the team that fulfilled our aims for the season against the expectations of most teams."

Fourteen weeks later, the defender known at Valley Parade as Mr Consistency, is planning to do battle against Liverpool again, but this time in vastly different circumstances.

Wetherall does not hide his admiration for Liverpool and he is not alone in believing that they are on the verge of becoming a major force in English football again.

He said: "I think we are in a stronger position than this time last year, but everyone else has improved as well. That is a factor that everyone else has got to take into consideration.

"So although we are optimistic about the new season we have got to be careful that people around the club don't get carried away and expect too much.

"If we finish fourth from the bottom again it won't be a disastrous season, but obviously we are looking for more.

Wetherall, who was a key signing after City won promotion to the Premiership, is delighted with the club's five new acquisitions. "They are five excellent signings," he said. "You wouldn't have expected us to be signing someone like Benito Carbone, or proven internationals like Dan Petrescu and David Hopkin.

These three players have got fantastic talent and the two lads from Sheffield Wednesday - Ian Nolan and Peter Atherton - are also proven Premiership players."

Wetherall has mixed memories of Anfield. He said: "I remember a 1-0 victory there with Leeds United, but we also got a couple of trouncings in my time.

"It is always a difficult place to go and I think Liverpool will be top four or five this season and pushing for the championship.

"They will be a real force. We are underdogs so there is no pressure on us."

Wetherall is looking forward to doing battle again with England striker Michael Owen.

He said: "He is still a young player, but a fantastic young player.

"He struggled a bit with injuries and he has had unfair criticism, but I expect him to be flying back which is unfortunate for us, but great for English football. He could become a world star."