Bradford City keeper Sam Walker excited for Doncaster game

But the keeper is not underplaying the significance of a Yorkshire derby that will get the juices flowing at Valley Parade.

One point and one place currently separate the sides in the League Two play-off spots setting it up for a major confrontation.

Walker feels City can approach it with confidence on the back of a five-game unbeaten run through October.

“What this month has done is firmed up the belief in what we can do this year as a group,” he said.

“When we’re at it with our intensity and aggression all over the pitch, I think we’re more than a match for anyone in the league.

City have picked up 11 points from five games in October (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“It sets it up to be a really good game. We need to be aware of what they can do but also remembering we’re a pretty good team ourselves when we want to be.”

City have recovered well from that wobble last month to sit fifth – five points behind leaders Port Vale. That position could be considerably strengthened with another home win this afternoon.

Walker added: “The league table is starting to take a bit of a shape now. Gillingham were just above us going into the game last week and we took on them and got the result.

“To back it up in another home game the following week and doing the same thing, I guess it would be a statement.

“That’s for other people to talk about and whether it may be a big thing or not.

“For us, it’s about taking it game by game and making sure we keep focusing on the things we’ve been doing well.

“We’ve got guys coming back into the group now so that competition is slowly starting to increase, which is only a healthy thing.

“Enjoy the occasion and really look forward to it. But play it as a game of football and focus on what we need to do.”

Doncaster will be backed by a large away support in a Valley Parade crowd that could be approaching 19-20,000. Walker is happy to be in the frontline at both ends of the stadium.

Sam Walker loves it when he is playing in front of the Kop (Image: Tom Pearson)

“When the away fans get behind the goal, it certainly adds a different edge. We’ve had quite a lot of families and kids there, so it’s obviously got a different feel to that.

“I love playing at the other end because you’ve got the Kop behind you and it feels like it’s going to take a good goal to get it in that net – you’ve got thousands of Bradford fans trying to keep it out as well as me!

“We had big games last season and they are going to keep getting bigger this year as we progress and play teams up and around it with us.”

Walker has had to cope with different defenders and formations in front of him this season as injuries have bitten deep into City’s resources at the back.

But his towering presence behind has been a reassuring constant amid all the change forced upon them.

“My persona off the pitch is that I am quite calm and collected and try and be quite balanced,” said Walker. “I’ve always tried to be that as a goalkeeper.

“I like the guys that make things look easier and reassure guys. If you go back, guys like Schmeichel are more like a dictatorship-type thing and an iron fist.

“I’ve seen lots of centre-halves who say they like their goalkeepers to be reassuring to know they are there - they are calm, everything is fine behind us.

“I look at the guys at the very top now like Alisson and Ederson. There are no stresses about them.”

The City stopper takes inspiration from former teammate Emiliano Martinez, Argentina’s World Cup-winning keeper and currently one of the very best with Aston Villa.

“I was fortunate enough to work with Emi Martinez for Reading for six months and he was comfortably the best goalkeeper I’ve ever worked with.

Emiliano Martinez celebrates saving a penalty for Aston Villa (Image: PA)

“The biggest thing that stuck out for me was his mentality. He had this utter, utter belief that he was going to be the best goalkeeper in the world and do all these things - and he’s gone onto do them.

“I remember when he won the FA Cup with Arsenal and then he won the World Cup.

“We exchanged a message after and I was ‘amazing, I’m so happy for you, you always said you were going to do it.’ He was so sure that was his path and his mentality was amazing to witness.

“Physically he was also an animal and technically, he was a fantastic goalkeeper as well. “He was very close to that line at times and there were lads in that group at Reading who he upset at times, because of the way he was.

“But he was so confident in his abilities in what he could do and in fairness to him, he pretty much single-handedly kept us up that season.”