GRAHAM Alexander is not looking for any excuses as he faces the prospect of changing a winning team at Cheltenham.

The Bantams head for Gloucestershire tomorrow targeting a fourth straight victory to continue the run that has pushed them up to fifth.

But injury and the lingering sickness bug could force his hand with selection.

Tyreik Wright is a major doubt after coming off in the first half against Gillingham with a tight hamstring.

Jay Benn missed that game through illness and Alexander is monitoring the level of the sickness within the squad. But he insists they will be prepared for Michael Flynn’s men.

The City boss said: “It’s a challenging season with the travelling and intensity of the games, illness, injuries, all those sorts of things.

“That’s why preseason is so important to prepare the squad because we know we’re going to lose people from time to time.

“We have to be ready. There are no excuses.

“Nobody cares whatever mood you’re in. You’ve just got to be ready to perform.

“The players are in good form but we’re going to have to compete.

“We plan for a tough game every time. We know what teams are like when they come up against us.

“They want to beat us and we’re the same. The only game we prepare for is the hardest one.”

City tapered down training before the weekend to limit the chance of the sickness spreading. But it has had an impact on numbers since Neill Byrne was struck down on the morning of the Tranmere trip.

“We had three missing last Tuesday, three more on Wednesday and then another couple towards the end of the week,” added Alexander.

“Tyreik was one of those, so I didn’t want to risk it when he got a tight hamstring. I knew his levels had been depleted during the week and there was a long time to go in the game.

“It’s gone through the squad a little bit. That made Saturday’s win even better for me.

“Fair play to them for the energy they showed considering a few of them had been ill.

“There’s half the squad that has been affected and half that hasn’t. I’m hoping that’s where it ends.

“We limited our training time to try and get them away from each other, giving themselves that breathing space and not interacting too much.

“But we have to train obviously so fingers crossed nobody picks up anything else.”

Alexander is prepared to shuffle his resources if needed for the clash with Michael Flynn’s men.

“Different people get affected in different ways and I think it’s hit some players harder.

“Byrner was not so great for three or four days. Tyler (Smith) was one of them but had it for a day and then he was fine.

“We’ll see who we’ve got when we travel down. We might have to change the team a little bit depending on the quick turnaround.

“Saturday would have taken it out a few of the boys who had been ill.”