Bantams boss Graham Alexander's debt to Steve Cotterill

City’s home clash with relegation battlers Forest Green tonight brings Alexander face to face with Steve Cotterill.

Cotterill signed Alexander for Burnley at the age of 35 – two years later the City boss was captaining the Clarets in the top flight.

Alexander admitted he didn’t play his best football under Cotterill, who was only at Turf Moor for another three months after snapping him up from Preston.

But the pair have remained in contact ever since.

Alexander said: “He showed great faith in me when I was 35 to sign me for Burnley from Preston.

“It was a really big moment in my career to go there.”

Cotterill, who has won five promotions as a manager, fell seriously ill with Covid while in charge at Shrewsbury and twice spent lengthy periods in hospital.

He was appointed Forest Green boss at the end of January, after the club's turbulent spell with Troy Deeney, and has steered them to three wins in their last six games to move within two points of safety.

“I’ve kept in touch with him over the time,” added Alexander. “It’s great to see him back managing because he obviously had a bad illness for a while.

“It’s brilliant to see him back in. If there’s one guy who can get Forest Green out of it, it’s Steve Cotterill.”

City cut the gap to the play-offs to five points with the weekend romp at Accrington, stretching their unbeaten run to six games.

But Alexander knows the threat that Cotterill’s side will pose despite their lowly position.

“At this stage of the season, everyone has got something to compete for.

“You’re either at the top end trying to cement an automatic position, or you’re in 10-12 clubs chasing a play-off or you’re fighting against the drop.

“There are no dead games. Everyone has got motivation, everyone’s competitive so we have to make sure we keep repeating those performances like Saturday.

“That’s the blueprint for us as a team. We might not be always as clinical as that and score three goals, but every other part of the performance has to be the same.

“It’s a game we want to win but both teams will want the points for their own reasons.

“They’ve picked up a massive result (against Walsall on Saturday) so they’ll be going into it confident.”

City expect Tyreik Wright to be okay after taking a painful whack which saw his two-goal showing at Accrington ended early in the second half.

Ash Taylor in action against Troy Deeney at Forest Green (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Liam Ridehalgh is set to continue at centre half with Sam Stubbs still following concussion protocols. Matty Platt is back in training but Ash Taylor faces a few weeks out with a calf injury.

Taylor, who was sent off in City's 3-0 win at Forest Green in November, had recovered from a calf problem - only to redo the injury in training.

But Jamie Walker and Daniel Oyegoke both returned to the squad on Saturday to boost options for this hectic period – with the Scot making a welcome return in the closing stages.

Alexander said: “We went from 13 days without a game to playing one every three or four days. Now we’ve got numbers and players back it prepares us much better.

“If we need to make any changes, we’ve got the players to do that.”