Bantams boss Graham Alexander on goal sensation Andy Cook

Nothing beats an Andy Cook goal celebration.

It is what unites player, team-mates, fans and coaches. It is impossible not to get wrapped up in the sheer elation of the moment.

Cook’s double against Carlisle took his total to 75 City goals since he arrived from Mansfield in January 2021. The pure ecstasy of scoring has not diminished through its frequency.

“It’s what he lives for,” said Graham Alexander. “He gets a tremendous buzz out of it when he scores.

“I like people who celebrate goals. I’m not one for the ‘too cool for school’ when you score.

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“It’s the best feeling in the world and it was brilliant watching Cooky celebrate his goals on Saturday.

“It was like the first goal he has ever scored. I love that passion.

“I do think people’s body language and actions rub off. Supporters want to see players that get excited by their job – I do as well.

“I tell players to celebrate if they score in training. I used to!

“It means a lot to him to score for Bradford City as well. He’s got a real hunger for that.

“He’s got a true feeling for the football club over the last few seasons.”

Cook has been top scorer in every campaign and the 33-year-old is already on five goals with the new one just a month old. Alexander can see the hunger is there every day.

“What you see from Cooky on a matchday is what you see from him in training.

“He scores a lot in training when we have small-sided games or finishing practice. He’s always around the goal and never plays in a position that isn’t him.

“He’s never out on the wing or dropping into midfield. He plays as a centre forward all the time.

“More than anything, he wants to win. He’s not happy if his team lose in training.

“He wants to help his team win and that’s what he’s doing when he sticks the ball in the back of the net.”

Andy Cook slots home the opener in City's win on Saturday (Image: Tom Pearson)

What the City boss really likes about his number nine is his all-round play and the selfless work he is willing to put in for those around him.

Cook buys into the team ethic that Alexander preaches all the time.

“It’s not just his goals. He’s really trying to learn about how we press and the structural detail we have.

“He asks me questions before we go out for the game on certain positions and stuff like that.

“He wants to do the rest of his job right as well and that’s brilliant for me as a manager to know.

“He’s not just going, ‘if I score a goal, that’s enough for the team’. He’s doing the other side of the game as well.”

That is evident when it comes to City defending free-kicks and corners. How often is it Cook’s head on the end of the cross to clear the danger?

Alexander said: “Most of the time when the ball’s half-cleared out the box, every centre forward is sprinting up the pitch forgetting about defending.

“But he does that job exceptionally well for us. He stays where he needs to and defends the full attack.

“He’s proved over the time that he’s just as important at set-pieces against us as he is in the other box.

“He’s done really well, we want him to continue. I still feel there’s more to come from Cooky, as I say with the team, and I try to help him improve other aspects of his game.

“He’s taking that on board. He doesn’t just shrug his shoulders and ignore it.

“We can all improve – the staff, players, the lot. We’ve got to help each other to do that.

“It can be difficult if you’re not open to that but he is and that’s great for me.”

Graham Alexander believes Andy Cook's game can still improve (Image: Tom Pearson)

Cook has come back fitter and leaner than before. He spoke after the weekend’s win about wanting to get back to being the red-hot striker who banged in 31 goals two seasons ago – 28 of them in League Two to win the golden boot.

“He’s not resting on his laurels,” added Alexander. “He’s not looking at the past and saying, ‘I’ve done enough’.

“He’s looking at this season, the next two or three seasons.

“You have to have that as a professional. Take confidence from what you’ve done in the past but you’ve always got to try to repeat those things and improve.

“It’s like us bringing in people who have won promotion. It makes you hungrier for that.

“Cooky had that season when he was ridiculously good and he wants to do it again.

“I think that’s what success can do for players. If he repeats that sort of form, and I don’t put him under any pressure to do that, then we’ll be in a good position.”

With each goal, Cook edges further up the leader board in the club’s all-time list. Now well into the top 10, he is sharing increasingly special company.

But Alexander stressed that City’s fate this season is not just down to Cook’s finishing prowess. There are plenty of others who can help to share the scoring load.

“He’s a part of the team, we don’t build it around him.

“We try to feed the other centre forward just as much. We don’t put extra workload on the other striker or ask him to do anything differently.

“We expect Cooky to work just as hard as the other guy and the eights next to him.

“We’re definitely not, and we never ever want to be, a one-man team. I bristle at the thought of that.

“I believe in the team ethic. I believe in the 11 players and then becoming 15-16 players week in, week out doing everything they can to help each other win a game of football.

Andy Cook celebrates his winner with fans and team-mates (Image: Tom Pearson)

“Cooky on his own would not score the goals. We need good support around him.

“The other players need good support from him to do their job as well.

“I think we’ve got more than him as goal threats.

“Olly (Sanderson) has scored two in his last three games, we know Jamie Walker can get towards double figures. Bobby (Pointon) has got a decent goal record since he’s come in the team, Clarke Oduor can score, Antoni Sarcevic, Alex Pattison – all these guys.

“We want a team that can score from all over. That might relieve the pressure just on Andy Cook, which might help him score more.”