MARTIN Drury and Anton McElhone have been told their role will be “vital” in Gary Bowyer’s City coaching team.

The new boss makes his first appearance in the home dug-out at Valley Parade today as the frantic battle for League One survival steps up against Peterborough.

Bowyer and assistant Andy Todd have been handed the task of saving City over the final two months.

But he will not be side-lining the support of the coaches from the previous managerial regime – and added another new face yesterday with the appointment of Maik Taylor as goalkeeper coach.

Bowyer said: “I’d be stupid not to listen to them and I’ve said that to all the staff here.

“From Robbie (Bloodworth) the analyst to the physios, they’ve got the information.

“I need to tap into that to give myself a broader base of what we’ve got here.”

Drury was promoted to the senior staff last summer to work alongside Michael Collins and Greg Abbott.

When Collins was sacked, he was kept on as first-team coach by David Hopkin who also brought in McElhone as his number two.

Both were in the dug-out for City’s 5-1 loss at Portsmouth last week as Drury took caretaker charge following Hopkin’s resignation.

A new manager’s arrival can often lead to a clean sweep of existing coaching staff. But Bowyer stressed that will not be the case and both will remain involved for the rest of the season.

He added: “I understand that (uncertainty). It’s a completely different time for everybody.

“Coming in was like being back at school on your first day. They don’t know how you are going to react.

“I’ve just said to them that I expect them to work very hard for Bradford City and give me and Andy and the players as much as they possibly can.

“Everyone’s involved and it’s all hands-on deck because they have vital knowledge and information that we’re still learning at the moment.

“We’ve got to try to get some wins and keep us in the division.”

Bowyer admits it has been a challenge for the players to work under four different voices in one season. But he has been pleased with the initial response since he came in on Monday.

“It’s the same with any industry when somebody comes in and says ‘right we’re doing it this way now’,” he said. “But I have to say they’ve been very good with what we’ve asked them so far.

“We’ve encouraged them to contribute and I’ve seen they want to do that and come up with some suggestions.

“We’ve just got to keep working with them and give them all the encouragement and support they need to go and perform.

“We’ve got to hit the ground running because obviously we’ve only got 11 games.

“A lot of work has gone in this week individually and collectively showing how we want to play, what we want to do in possession and when we haven’t got the ball.

“We want to make sure they understand clearly what’s required. So far the response has been very good.”