Graham Alexander praises Bantams captain Richie Smallwood

The Bantams boss had no intention of taking the armband from the skipper when he took the Valley Parade helm last month.

Alexander sees Smallwood as the best man to set the example for the team and is not surprised the midfielder has been playing well for him.

Alexander said: “He’s quite a low maintenance character.

“He just wants to come in, get his boots on, train, go home, come in on Saturday, win, go home. I like that simplicity about him.

“I think he’s got a really good influence on the team. I don’t think he’s alone on that.

“There are several players that are helping him and supporting him in that role. But I’ve been delighted with what I’ve seen.

“As I’ve always said, you have to tick a lot of boxes to win games of football consistently.

“It’s not just about silky skills, aerial ability or whatever, it’s about decision-making, character and knowing what to do at the right moment.

“It’s about knowing how to influence the players around you and make them better and I think Richie ticks all the boxes on that side of it.

“I think he makes the players around him a little bit freer to do what they can do. I think he makes good decisions at the right times to win a game of football.

“I don’t think there’s any ego there. He’ll do what it takes to win, which I love.”

Smallwood was dropped from the side by Mark Hughes in September after struggling for form.

But he was instantly recalled when Kevin McDonald took temporary charge and has maintained his leadership role since Alexander took over.

“All our players are important to us but the captain is a position that has extra responsibility,” he added.

“It has extra profile. Players will look at you to set the standard, supporters might do that as well.

“As a manager, I just want them to be themselves.

“Obviously, I didn’t make Richie captain but when I’ve made that decision in the past, I’ve looked for players who are a captain already without the armband and they show those attributes.”

But Alexander also wants to see his players show they can think for themselves during games and not rely on someone telling them what to do.

Richie Smallwood frees up players around him, says his manager (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“I don’t particularly like players that need to be held by the hand and walked through everything by either the coach, the manager or their captain.

“You’re going to fall down at some point because you can’t have your hand held all the time.

“There’s an element of standing on your own two feet and showing that independence, knowing what you’re good at, how to train properly and setting your own standards.

“But I do believe in a squad of footballers, there are lads at different levels of their career.

“As you get more experienced, you should learn about what creates success and what gets the best out of you.

“Then your responsibility is to pass that on to players who are not there yet.

“We all start off young and naïve and sometimes that’s a good thing. You have to find out about yourself as well.

“Leadership is really important but I try to empower players to lead themselves a little bit and make their own decisions.”

That freedom can also extend to the team talk in the dressing room before the game.

Alexander is happy not to intervene and allow the players to gee themselves up wherever possible.

He added: “I’m pretty quiet before a game because I hear a lot of players saying the right things.

“I would only be repeating what they’re saying so why do they need to hear my voice?

“They are the ones going onto the pitch to make the right decisions. If they are saying the right things, it gives me confidence and it’s about doing it then when the pressure’s on.”