MARK Trueman will continue to lead City into tomorrow’s Yorkshire derby with Harrogate but does not know how much longer he will get.

The caretaker boss has been assured that he remains in charge despite another wretched result at Oldham.

Steve Evans was among those at Boundary Park watching the Bantams slip to a fourth defeat in six games in their first outing since Derek Adams was sacked.

The controversial former Rotherham and Leeds boss has said that he would willingly take a short-term chance until the summer.

Despite being among the favourites with the bookies, there is no suggestion of the club being tempted to make an appointment that would split the fan base.

But Trueman knows that he will need an immediate response at Valley Parade to maintain his own position as temporary boss.

“As long as I’ve been given the role, I’ll do everything in my powers to be successful in it,” he said.

“It’s game by game and then go from there. That’s all you can do and then see whatever decision is made by the board.

“It took the wind out of us straight away because of the manner we conceded the Oldham goals.

“It’s a positive thing in football that you’ve always got the next game but we must put in a performance against Harrogate.”

The future of many in the squad is also in doubt as City’s season threatens to peter out. They are now nine points adrift of League Two’s top seven having slipped into the bottom half of the table.

Trueman added: “The players are playing for their futures as well as this club.

“Some are out of contract, some aren’t. They are thinking of different things but while they are here they’ve got to put in performances and win football matches.

“There are players who don’t look as positive as they have done in the past and confidence in football is massive.

“We went to Oldham with good intentions to win but it’s not turned out that way. Now we’re going to see how they react in another big game, a derby.”

Paudie O’Connor’s red card on Saturday gives City a defensive headache.

Reece Staunton went off injured before half-time in his first league appearance of the season. He had been drafted in late when Matty Foulds pulled out ill.

Liam Ridehalgh is also being rested for a couple of weeks after Trueman confirmed that he has been suffering from concussion.

City have scored only once in the last four games – although sub Tom Elliott saw a late header ruled out after a lengthy delay.

Referee Anthony Backhouse initially awarded it but changed his mind after an assistant flagged for a foul on Oldham keeper Danny Rogers.

He admitted: “I’ve done that plenty of times in my career so I’m still confused about why.

“But the linesman thought I fouled the keeper. The decision was given and you have to take it and move on.

“I picked the ball up running back to the halfway line ready to go again and saw all their players talking to the ref and linesman. Sometimes that happens as a big man and you get penalised for certain things.

"When things go bad, they go bad."