Bantams' changes make their point to boss Graham Alexander

He made seven changes for last night’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy trip to Derby – and was rewarded with an impressive 1-0 win.

Sam Stubbs, one of those to come back in, scored the only goal to book City’s place in Friday’s quarter-final draw.

Alexander hopes the impact from the players who have been on the fringes can also lift their fortunes again in League Two after back-to-back defeats.

“They were superb,” he said. “A lot of players out there hadn’t played for a long time but they trained hard and showed they were ready for an opportunity.

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“The two things we wanted were to win the game and have decisions to make going forward in the league programme.

“I feel the team that has been playing has done exceptionally well. We were disappointed with the last two results but I felt our performances warranted better.

“But we still feel there’s potentially a positive season in front of us. We need more than 11 good players to make that possible and this was an indication that we have that.

“It’s been the same team while we’ve been picking up results and they are probably running on fumes a little bit.

“Hopefully their little rest will do them good. But certainly, the energy of people competing for your spot and showing they are good players who can help us win reinvigorates you as well.”

Alexander had challenged the players coming in to stake their claim for a regular slot – and felt they all grabbed the opportunity at the League One promotion chasers.

He had no worries that bringing in so many different faces could leave the team undercooked.

“Sometimes it’s about the mentality and excitement about a game.

“There are lads frustrated not being able to play. We haven’t even been able to organise bounce games.

“Just being out there it’s like being a young buck going out into a field, they’re pinging it around until they run out of steam. They’re just excited to be on a pitch and feeling like professional footballers again.

City's 734 away fans enjoy their night at Pride Park (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“It’s really difficult as a manager when you see good pros training well but not having the rewards on a Saturday.

“This was an opportunity to reward what they’ve been doing in training and make sure we’ve got a strong squad for the rest of the season.

“A lot of the players showed that but we have to follow it up from good performances.”

The Bantams head into the regionalised quarter-finals knowing they are just two rounds away from stepping out at Wembley.

But Alexander feels the intensity has been there from the group stages of the competition.

“There’s always a light (at the end of the tunnel) for me,” he added. “You all know what happens at the end, so you have to be just as motivated to win a game, whether it’s September or January.

“We’re trying to create an environment where every game is as important as the next. Every time you put on the shirt, you want to do your best and win.

“We don’t know who we’re going to get in the next round. But Derby away has got to be one of the toughest fixtures potentially there and we’ve come through that really well.

“Each game is a different challenge. We’ll see who we get in the draw and give it our best shot.”