Chairman Geoffrey Richmond says Bradford City will not dramatically alter either their playing staff or their style of play for the club's first tilt at the Premiership next season.

The Bantams have already been cast among the favourites for relegation with the bookmakers pricing them at 5-4 to make an immediate return to the Nationwide League.

Despite their chances being written off, confidence is high at Valley Parade that City can equip themselves for their season among the English game's elite for 77 years.

The City chief said: "I firmly believe that there is no reason to suggest that because we were good enough to win promotion that we are good enough to survive.

"The mistake so many clubs make is that they either dramatically change their style that got them up in the first place. Or they bring in a number of fairly mediocre players.

"What we don't want to do is rip out the heart of the team. We accept that it needs some strengthening but while doing that we will ensure we bring quality players in who will fit in to our superb spirit."

Many pundits have said since City won promotion that they will have to spend a lot of money to survive.

And last week Charlton boss Alan Curbishley said after seeing his side relegated just 12 months after winning promotion that both City and Sunderland would have to splash out £15 million ahead of the 1999-2000 campaign.

However Richmond said: "I was a little bit surprised to read his comments because the reality is that although Charlton went down, they only went down as a result of the 38th and final match of the season. One more victory and they would have stayed up.

"Money in itself is not a guarantee of success as Blackburn have proved."

They spent more than £20million on new players last year but still could not avoid dropping out of the top flight.

As a club we are determined to maintain what we have and will do everything in our power to ensure we do just that."

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