PHIL Parkinson is calling for a cauldron of noise in next week’s FA Cup replay to roar City to a money-spinning day out at Chelsea.
A fourth-round trip to Stamford Bridge is the mouth-watering prize on offer when the Bantams face Millwall for a second time.
Parkinson’s players will be pumped up by the prospect of facing Jose Mourinho's Blues – and he believes the Valley Parade faithful will have an equally significant role in seeing them through.
He said: “It’s a fantastic incentive to play against the best team in the country at the moment. But we know there is a Championship side standing in our way first.
“We spoke about going to Millwall and dealing with the environment down there. It would be nice for them to experience what Valley Parade is like with a really good crowd on the night.
“I hope the excitement of the draw will bring more people out for the replay. Give Millwall a proper welcome to the north and that could give us a real edge.”
Parkinson reckons the chance of playing Chelsea will pile the pressure on the Lions, with many pundits already talking about a possible London derby.
“The moment it came out on the TV, people were talking about a derby game and almost writing us off. But in a way, that’s good. There’s going to be a bit more pressure on Millwall on the night.
“It’s a great draw – it’s right up there as one of the top ones you could get. We’ve done half the job down at Millwall, now we’ve got a really big league game on Saturday against Rochdale and then hopefully we can give everything and win the replay.
“The Premier League teams get so much exposure and we’ve seen Chelsea play so many times on TV. Now there is the incentive of pitting our wits against them.
“But to achieve that we’ve got to get past Millwall and we’ll give it our best shot at Valley Parade next week.”
Last night’s potentially massive cup draw came hot on the heels of the news that Filipe Morais, who began his career at Chelsea, had agreed a new two-and-a-half year contract.
The winger’s relationship with Parkinson was a significant factor in his decision to stay and ignore rival offers. He has been a regular in City’s plans during the two-month unbeaten run.
A source said: “Filipe really believes in Phil Parkinson and doesn’t want to let him down. He respects Phil, they get on very well and he wants to be loyal to the manager and the fans.
“Filipe enjoys playing at Valley Parade and the atmosphere. This is probably the most important part of his career coming up and the fans will see even more of his performances now.
“There were other offers on the table which were better financially but his number one choice was always to stay at Bradford as long as he possibly can.”
Bolton and MK Dons were both keen on Morais and a Scottish top-flight club also made an approach over the weekend.
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