Bantams have made fewer signings in window than rival clubs

Opening league opponents MK Dons have made 11 signings in the window and several other clubs have brought in double-figure additions.

Alexander has recruited six players so far and plans to add a couple more before the deadline at the end of the month.

But he was sufficiently impressed with many of the squad he inherited to rule out another major turnover at Valley Parade between seasons.

"We did it in January as well when we only brought two permanent signings in, Sam Walker and Callum Kavanagh,” said the City boss.

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“I didn't think I'd had enough time with all the players to assess them. We'd had a really strong period when I first came in, then a difficult period through January.

"It was really, 'Which are they - the first run of games or the second run of games?'

"But I saw enough talent in there and I wanted to assess it and give the squad a bit of breathing space, move a few players on because the numbers were too heavy.

"Then come the summer we'd had five months or so to look at the players. It wasn't a specific thought about how many changes I wanted to make.”

City’s five-game winning charge to end the last campaign convinced Alexander that the talent was there when it came to drawing up his future plans.

“I just took each individual player on his merits - is this guy motivated to win games for Bradford City? Is he a good team player?

“Is he ambitious? Is he trying to do the right things? All the things you need as elements of a winning team.

"If it was a yes he's in that group, if it was a no, he might have to move on.

"I found a lot of players I actually felt were in the 'yes' group and that was it.

"There's inherited contracts we have to take on board but in the main part I was looking at good players who maybe just needed a bit of coming together, a bit of glue and cohesion, a bit of clarity in what we had to do.”

Graham Alexander and Chris Lucketti suffering at Harrogate (Image: Thomas Gadd)

The Bantams finished with19 points from a possible 21 after the low point of the 3-0 defeat at Harrogate in March – a fourth loss on the bounce. That was when Alexander drew a line in the sand.

“We were 17th so it was a question of what do we get out of this period?” he added.

"It was me saying, 'This is how we're going to play next season, we're going to pass the ball through the team, we're going to press the opposition and I need to see who can and who can't.

“I used the last seven games to see who could do it.

"The results went well against teams in the play-offs who were all in for their games. We were killing off people's promotion hopes.

"But I think there was less pressure on us right there. There was our own pride but there wasn't that intense pressure to be successful at that point.

“That's what we now have to add into that mix.

"This is the biggest challenge in professional sport, not just football.

“After all the training and all the focus you know you can do the job but doing it when the pressure's on, whenever everyone expects you to, that's where I feel we have to improve as a club.

"We've had good players, good coaches here before and we have to be better.”