CITY have raised the bar for Bobby Pointon in his second senior season.

The Valley Parade fans’ favourite made a huge impression in his debut campaign for the club he has grown up supporting.

The Low Moor-born midfielder scored four times in 24 league outings, including a cracker against next opponents Newport in a 4-1 win on the final day.

Pointon has got two goals in the current campaign but has been in and out of the side, starting three of City’s nine league games.

He was one of four changes from the Harrogate line-up for Tuesday's draw at Morecambe and did not come off the bench.

Pointon signed a new deal in the summer to tie him down for at least the next two seasons until the summer of 2026. There is an option of a further year on top of that.

Graham Alexander insists the Bantams rate the 20-year-old highly – and believe he can keep getting better.

“It’s learning about competition, getting to higher levels each time and never settling on what you potentially did a month or two months ago,” said the City boss.

“The bar has been raised and you have to keep going. With everything you put in front of Bobby, he tries to complete it and he tries to achieve.

“He’s got some really good attributes for a young professional. Not just as a footballer, but as a professional.

“There’s still room for improvement, but we are here to help all.

“All the staff want him to do well and the players do. He’s a popular player in the group because of the way he trains and he’s ‘all in.’

“And they trust him. As a young player, having the trust of senior players is the biggest thing.

“I trust him and the players trust him. That’s the most you can hope to achieve at this level as a young professional and the rest is down to him and how he approaches it.”

Bobby Pointon is trusted by his teammates, says the City bossBobby Pointon is trusted by his teammates, says the City boss (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Alexander hopes Jack Shepherd’s late leveller at Morecambe will give City something to build on after a tough week.

They avoided a third loss in four in the league – a wobble that has seem them drop into the bottom half of the table as they prepare for Monday’s televised home date.

Alexander said: “It’s not the giant stride we wanted to make with a win but it’s certainly a step forward.

“We’ve handed the opposition a real massive lift in the last two games and something to protect.

“I can guarantee that every player finds another five or 10 per cent of energy and determination when they go 1-0 up. It makes our job even harder.

“We talked about not doing it after Saturday and then it happened again. But the response was miles better.”