PHIL Parkinson can see Bradford City’s new breed starting to make their mark as they hit the Christmas rush.
The Bantams put their seven-game unbeaten run on the line at Fleetwood this afternoon before hosting Notts County on Sunday for the return of Gary Jones and Garry Thompson to Valley Parade.
City have taken 30 points from the first 21 games this season – exactly the same tally as this time last year.
But Parkinson’s side were on a downward spiral then during a run which saw them win only once in 20 attempts. Today they will head for the modest Highbury Stadium looking for a win to propel them into a play-off spot as the halfway point of the season approaches.
Parkinson said: “We had to change it round quite a lot in the summer for various reasons. The budget was cut and I think we’ve had a freshness in the camp.
“There are different players and it’s been good to get to know them and find out their strengths and weaknesses because you don’t really know until you get them in the building.
“In the main, we’re doing well and I’m pleased with how we are going in a very competitive division.
“We know that if we’re not right on it and playing as well as we can, we’ll very rarely get a result at this level.
“We found in League Two, we might have times when we were a bit leggy or not quite right but could still do enough to get a result.
“It’s been good to work with the group of new players we’ve got and a lot of them are gradually making their mark at the club. The fans are warming to them.”
Parkinson must decide how to replace Billy Clarke, whose knee injury will keep him out until next month. The shoulder issue with Filipe Morais also remains a concern for the City boss.
Parkinson believes the squad have got last week’s frustrating draw with Scunthorpe out of the system as they prepare to take on another of the promoted sides.
“We were annoyed at the final whistle obviously but sometimes you’ve got to give the opposition credit.
“You expect to see the game through with 20 seconds to go and we didn’t. But we’ve had a chat with the lads about certain parts of the team that didn’t function as well as they could.
“We need to get that right going into the Christmas period. But in terms of the effort of the lads, that’s been excellent.”
Fleetwood followed City’s lead in coming up through the play-offs after beating Burton 1-0 in last season’s final at Wembley.
They began life in League One with a bang by winning their first three games and are currently sat three points behind the Bantams in mid-table.
Parkinson said: “They are a team who have made a sharp, meteoric rise through the divisions. They’ve spent a lot of money to achieve that but you’ve got to give everyone at the club credit.
“To get into this division as a smaller club is a great achievement.
“They had a great start to the season and were one of the form teams in the first five or six games.
“I’ve seen a couple of their games recently and they’ve got some decent players like everybody.
“We know they are a good side and it’s down to us to pick a team with the right balance.
“We’ve got three games in eight days coming up now and everybody is going to be required to play a part in this period. We’ve got to make sure we make the right decisions.
“Everybody who has watched football and knows the game will realise teams change in this period. There are going to be differences and every player has got to be ready.
“There are a few lads who’ve been out the team who are in that position. Whether they get their chance against Fleetwood or on Sunday or on January 3, we’ll have to wait and see.”
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