WHILE Graham Alexander will certainly be keeping his eye on the young City XI who take on Bradford (Park Avenue) at Horsfall tonight, his main focus will be on tomorrow’s intriguing match-up in Austria.

The Bantams’ first team are out in the country on a training camp, with the centrepiece of the trip to Obertraun being their midweek friendly against SV Ried II.

It is a team unfamiliar to both fans and City’s squad, but Alexander expects the Bantams to reap the benefits.

And he should know what those are, given his Motherwell side took on similar opponents, Vorwarts Steyr, in July 2022, winning 5-1 as they geared up for their UEFA Europa Conference League campaign.

Discussing tomorrow’s game with SV Ried II, Alexander said: “They are in the third division in Austria.

“We played against a team in the same league a couple of years ago when I was at Motherwell and it was a really tough game.

“It’s on the training campus as well at the end of the week, so it will be good going into a game against an opponent we know nothing about.

“We don’t know how they play tactically so we’ll have problems to solve.”

As for the wider benefits of the match up, Alexander said: “You’re looking for an extension from last week (behind closed doors).

“That was a real positive step after Guiseley and we’ll want to see that again.

Bradford City looked off the pace at Guiseley, but Graham Alexander insists he has seen a real improvement in his squad since then.Bradford City looked off the pace at Guiseley, but Graham Alexander insists he has seen a real improvement in his squad since then. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

“We always have a game to look forward to. It gives the players something to aim for.

“We’ll have an evening after that and try to get a barbecue or go for a pizza together as a squad.

“We give them free time because we don’t want to be on top of them.

“But it’s important that we bring the squad together a couple of times to really get that bond.”

Those bonds can easily be tested when it comes to fighting for your spot in the starting line-up, with Alexander admitting thoughts are starting to turn to who will play in the opening League Two game at MK Dons on Saturday, August 10.

He said: “Everyone has had exactly the same exposure to match minutes, which is really unusual in pre-season.

“You usually have to dot it around and get a couple of different games in.

“We’re really pleased from that aspect and that’s why it was a brilliant exercise last Wednesday with the two 60-minute games (behind closed doors).

“We’ve got three games left and we’re going to have to start picking a team.

“The second part of the pre-season is about refining what we do, challenging players, making them know they need to do a little bit more if they want to be in the team.

“The competition is always there, but the real competition starts now to be in the team on day one.”