NUMBER 499 was one for Richie Smallwood and City to forget.

The Bantams skipper will be looking for a more memorable night to bring up his own personal milestone at Morecambe tomorrow.

Smallwood reaches his 500th career appearance knowing he needs to inspire a proper response to the weekend woe in north Yorkshire.

It is not the scenario the 33-year-old would have wanted on reaching the landmark but Graham Alexander insists it is something to be proud of.

Smallwood is still only halfway towards his manager – who played over 1,000 times himself.

But Alexander can recognise the same desire in the City captain to keep on playing.

“I see a player that wants to play every game and that’s the same as me,” said the Bantams boss.

“If a manager every asked me if I wanted to be rested, he could tell by my face straight away what the answer to that was.

“I just wanted to play every single game.

“It’s a brilliant sport and you dream all your childhood about being a professional footballer. Why would you take it for granted when you’ve got it right in your hands?

“You would cherish it, you guard it and you protect it. You would sacrifice things to make sure you last as long as possible.

City captain Richie Smallwood played his first senior game in 2010City captain Richie Smallwood played his first senior game in 2010 (Image: Tom Pearson)

“Richie does that. He lives a good life, he works hard every day.

“He’s potentially similar to me in not being the quickest player in the world. You don’t get to an age where you lose your speed because you didn’t have it anyway.

“I saw that as a bonus in my 30s and I think Richie will feel the same going forward. You can still keep your game together.”

It is coming up to 14 years since Smallwood made his debut for Middlesbrough at Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

He has played 114 games in a City shirt having arrived under Mark Hughes in the summer of 2022.

Alexander added: “We talk to 21-year-olds about making the sacrifices and having the discipline now to maintain your career all the way through.

“Don’t just have a seven or eight-year career. Can you play 15, 16, 17 years?

“You’ll miss it when it’s gone, 100 per cent. You get one go at it.

“Richie is a model of consistency. He’s got those games because he’s been picked by a lot of managers.

“That’s the badge of honour you get. I was proud that I played for about 20 managers in 24 years – they all picked me.

“Richie has had the same. I don’t think there have been many clubs that he’s been at where he hasn’t played.”