Phil Parkinson is adamant City’s morale has not been dented by their recent stutter in results.

Saturday’s loss to Wolves meant they have picked up only one point from the last 12.

But Parkinson was heartened by the display, which followed on the heels of a gutsy effort at Preston.

And with the Bantams still occupying a play-off berth, he insists the high spirits within the camp have not been affected.

Parkinson said: “The players know they’ve gone toe-to-toe with two Championship-standard teams in the space of days and done themselves enormous credit. Confidence levels are high, without a shadow of a doubt.

“We are growing as a team with each game, despite the results not going as well of late. The great thing from our point of view is that we are still in the top six.

“That’s testament to the way we have done and physically we have shown in the last week that we can get through three games in eight days and stand up with teams at this level.

“I felt Preston was as good as we’ve played and we probably couldn’t have done much better in the second half against Wolves.

“Tuesday took a lot out of us and much as we are really disappointed to lose on Saturday, the way we kept going when we had to chase the game after going 2-1 down really pleased me.

“Now it’s about trying to turn those performances into good results. I’m a bit frustrated we got nothing against Wolves but keep playing like that and that level of performance will turn into three points.

“It’s a very, very competitive league this year and overall we’ve got to be pleased.”

The return of Nahki Wells as a second-half sub in the Wolves game came as a timely lift. With a full week’s training ahead, he is pushing for a start at Crewe.

Parkinson added: “We’re just pleased to have Nahki back and his ankle is absolutely fine. We had to make sure we gave him enough time to get it right.

“We weren’t really tempted to bring him back any earlier. It was only last Monday that he trained properly with the team and he still had a limp.

“But he got better as the week went on and on the Friday we felt he was running a little freer. So we decided to put him on the bench.

“I thought he looked sharp when he came on – and will get sharper still with another week’s training under his belt. That’s what he needs.

“He is a good player for us and will be a welcome addition again.”