Fleetwood may be newcomers to the league but City defender James Meredith knows them well.

The Aussie left back faced the Cod Army during his time at York and is not daunted by the challenge of toppling a side strongly tipped to go straight through League Two.

He said: “Fleetwood were good last year and walked the league. But against York, I didn’t think they were as good as their points and position reflected.

“They will be a good team and have obviously spent money. They will be full of confidence after getting promoted.

“Fleetwood have got a team of ball players and battlers but so have we. As time goes on, we’ll gel together more and I expect big things from Bradford City.

“We’ve got a squad with a winning mentality and a good attitude towards professionalism and working hard. It’s just about finding our identity as a team.”

At least the players won’t have the searing heat to contend with tonight. Temperatures pitch-side at Gillingham touched 36 degrees centigrade.

Meredith said: “It came out of nowhere because I don’t think we’ve had one hot day the whole year. But you can see we’re a fit team. Pre-season was tough and it’s made a difference.”