The defeat at Sheffield Wednesday was a crushing blow for Bradford City and the 4,500 supporters who made the trip to Hillsborough.

It was not just the fact that Wednesday won 2-0 in such an important relegation clash which left fans, players and the coaching staff very disappointed on Saturday night.

Instead it was the manner in which City collapsed after a bright opening which left the doom-mongers saying relegation was now a certainty rather than a possibility.

After sitting through that second-half performance, the consensus of opinion among the Bradford press was that the club were in trouble if action wasn't taken. And fast.

Some managers retreat into giving one-word answers at a press conference after such a disappointing defeat.

But Paul Jewell, visibly hurting, spoke coolly and calmly about what he needed to do to get City back on track.

The Bantams boss spoke of "changing a few things round" and bringing in some "new faces" to freshen up his side.

Jewell would not give any clues as to what position he felt needed strengthening but it would be a major surprise if a striker was not top of his shopping list.

The Bantams now comfortably have the worst scoring record in the Premiership with just 16 goals from 22 matches. And to make matters worse, they have scored just once in the last five matches.

The subsequent decision yesterday to allow Isaiah Rankin, the most expensive forward on the club's books, to join Birmingham City on loan suggests that a new signing is imminent.

City have used three strikers this season with Lee Mills top scorer with five league goals, Dean Saunders having grabbed two and Robbie Blake one.

It should be pointed out that the Bantams have not exactly created an abundance of chances for their front men so it would be wrong to blame the strikers alone for the lack of goals.

But it has to be said that City's front line needs a lift because the attacking verve which was much in evidence against Leicester City and Newcastle has been missing recently.

Even in the battling draw against Chelsea, it was only as the visitors poured forward looking for the winner that gaps began to appear which City came very close to exploiting.

The lack of cover for Lee Mills has been a worry for much of the season because if injury or loss of form means he is out of the side, there is no-one at the club who can replace his height.

I therefore believe any striker brought in must be a 'target man' to provide some much-needed competition up front.

The other area which needs strengthening is central midfield. City have used several players in this area through the season with all enjoying some influential games.

But last Saturday the midfield was struggling, with only Jamie Lawrence, tucked in on the right, offering much resistance to Wednesday's much livelier engine room.

The substitution of skipper Stuart McCall has been well covered in recent days, but should any player be above being replaced?

Jewell made the decision for what he saw as the good of the team and therefore must be allowed to do that without a chorus of "You don't know what you're doing" rolling down from the stands.

If he can bring another midfielder in to the club then the increased competition can only boost City's hopes of avoiding the drop.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.