PHIL Parkinson feels he can still rouse his battered City troops as their top-six bid enters the last-chance saloon.

A third loss in four games on Saturday against Gillingham left the Bantams seven points behind and clinging to an increasingly faint hope.

Next up tomorrow are leaders Bristol City – who will be promoted if they win at Valley Parade.

But Parkinson insisted: “I don’t think there will be a problem getting ourselves going again. We’ve got to do that.

“Bristol City are a good side, strong and physical, and we have to be ready for that – and we will be.

“If the team show the same attitude and work ethic from Saturday, then we will give ourselves a great chance.”

City’s failure to take their chances in a one-sided first half proved their undoing in Kent when Gillingham substitute John Marquis netted the only goal.

Parkinson admitted they blew a big opportunity to gain ground on their play-off rivals. None of the three teams above them won at the weekend.

“We should have (made inroads),” he added. “But football is about scoring goals.

“We can’t say we didn’t look like doing that. We created as many chances as I can remember for quite a while.

“The performance was very good but it was down to the big moments.

“Anyone who watched the first half and then went home would be in disbelief at the final score.

“You couldn’t have asked for any more with the way we started the game. We gave everything in our preparation for the game and our attitude and motivation was spot on but we got punished.

“They had offered nothing. It was probably one of the flattest atmospheres I’d seen for a while, the home team was flat and it wasn’t until they made the subs that they got a lift.”

James Hanson and Jon Stead had efforts cleared off the line and Billy Clarke twice went close. Goalkeeper Glenn Morris was voted Gillingham’s man of the match.

But City’s lack of goal poacher was evident as they fired a third blank in 11 days despite all the pressure.

Parkinson said: “Everybody’s looking for that but Billy’s got 11, Hanson 11, Stead ten so we share them around.

“We’ve got players who have chipped in like Filipe Morais and Billy Knott. We’ve had goals from everywhere.

“The performance was very good and we completely dominated the first half. Unfortunately when you’ve had that much possession and played that well, you’ve got to take your chances.

“The lads knew it at half-time. Whatever you said, you could feel it – we should have been two or three up.

“We were just craving that moment of real calm and quality in and around the box. That was it.

“Had we shown that, the game would have been over at half-time.”

Parkinson praised Gary MacKenzie for getting through the game after suffering ankle-ligament damage at Doncaster the week before.

“I thought Gaz was terrific. He has a big swollen ankle but got some painkillers down, strapped it up and played very well.”