GRAHAM Alexander insists City have made the right move bringing in two older heads.

Corry Evans joined Paul Huntington at Valley Parade this week as the Bantams swooped for a second veteran free agent.

The Northern Ireland international, who has also signed short term until January, came off the bench at the end of Monday’s win over Newport.

Some fans have questioned the wisdom behind signing free agents who are 37 and 34 to bolster City’s injury-hit options rather than looking to bring in younger recruits.

But Alexander believes their experience and know-how can play a big part in shaping those around them.

Graham Alexander says older players help to coach younger onesGraham Alexander says older players help to coach younger ones (Image: PA)

He said: “There are lots of players out there available but I feel we’ve got our own good young players.

“I don’t think we need to add to that because we’ve got some real good quality there.

“But all young players are the same and need to be guided around the pitch, around the game and understanding it.

“It can’t just be from me and the staff. It has to be from your peers, your teammates and the more good pros you can have at your club the better you are.

“I see it in the changing room before the game. People like Vadaine (Oliver) as well supporting the players and getting them geed up.

“This sort of stuff isn’t just down to the staff. It’s going to take us all and we have to be together.”

Evans had been training with City for a few days last week before his deal was confirmed on Sunday. Like Huntington, he has spent much of his career playing in the Championship.

Alexander said: “It was difficult first losing Antoni Sarcevic, then Joe Adams and Alex Pattison.

“With what we’ve been through the last few weeks, I thought the team was exceptionally young and we just needed a bit of experience there for certain times and games.

“It’s to help these young players understand the game and the levels, the standard of training and how we prepare as professionals.

“We wanted to help settle people down when it is a bit flustered. I think they work off each other, experienced and young.”

The former Sunderland skipper, who is working on his coaching badges, joined the Bantams having played just three hours of football since January 2023 when he tore his ACL in a derby game with Middlesbrough.

That wrote off the next 15 months until he was eventually able to return for Sunderland’s final three Championship fixtures of last season, featuring for 66 minutes in total from the bench.

 

 

Evans then appeared twice in friendlies for Northern Ireland during the summer – a second-half outing against future Euro winners Spain, who were already 4-1 up at the time, and a more comfortable 69 minutes in a victory over Andorra.

“Corry has undoubted quality, nobody can argue about that,” added the City boss. “It’s just he’s obviously missed a chunk of time games wise.

“But if we can look after him and get him up to speed, I think we’ve got a really good player on our hands.

“He’s been training with another club for two or three weeks as well, until last week when we offered him the opportunity to come here.

“He was straight here the next day and has been training with us since.

“We just thought it was a no-brainer to offer him a short-term contract until January and take it from there. It’s an opportunity for us and for him and he’s really eager to take it.”

Evans went straight onto the bench as Huntington had done at Morecambe – and made a late debut when he replaced Jamie Walker going into added time.

Alexander said: “I spoke to him earlier about potentially being on the bench and he was so eager to be involved. That’s great enthusiasm from him.

“We just knew he’d do the right things at the right time.

“It was only five or 10 minutes but it’s really important you see those spells out. He would have been a calming influence on the players around him as well.”