 Brought to you by DIS, keeping companies connected with cloud-based solutions. Come on, City! Connor, good to chat with you again. I'll start by getting your thoughts and reflections on Saturday. Do you see it as a missed opportunity to get all three points? You know, I say you go into every game, wanting to win and perform, and of course we're disappointed that we didn't win, you know, we created not loads of chances, but some good ones where we've maybe scored in the past, so yeah, it's like anything. We're upset that we have a one, but again, it was also that we got a draw on a clean sheet. It was a bonus because of the previous two games and you don't want it to go on for too long, so it was good to sort of get a point on the board, but would have been nicer to win the game, obviously. Coming into the game, a lot was made of the fact that it was your first week, full week in training after what has been such a long and hectic schedule. Obviously that offers the opportunity maybe to get some rest into the legs, but do you feel at this stage of the season that some of the players are a bit fatigued? I think, you know, nobody's ever been through a season like this in terms of this rough schedule, so people are finding out new things along the way and even people who have had numerous years of experience and expertise and were guided by the right people, but obviously there's going to be dips. There's going to be one week you might do a certain amount of training, but the next week it might not be right because certain things change. Sometimes you run more in a game than the other week and then you've got to tweak training even more and this is the kind of detail that goes into it all and it's not just that players are going to be fresh every week. Sometimes you have them games. You talk about that detail. What are the numbers? What is the data telling you at the moment about the score? That was one of the highest games in terms of coverage, especially from certain players who hit actual maximum statistics and actually covered more ground than any other game, which again showed I think how we played for the first 60, 70 where every time they had to go kit we went to press and we were aggressive with it and again it's that risk reward you're not going to get it right every time and if you do get it wrong you've got potential runners at your back line so we probably had to conserve a little bit of energy towards 65, 70 because again if you go gung-ho and just start pressing everybody there's huge gaps and people are covering 60, 70 metres instead of being in a compact shape and covering 5 and 10 so that was something that we saw amongst the action and knowing the players and knowing the loads it was a decision that we made. Speaking to Mark after the game it was something that was mentioned particularly those time phases that you speak about and naturally the point that comes away from that is squad rotation and using the players that you've got at your disposal particularly on the bench how big a factor is that going to be from now until the end of the season? Yeah it's the opportunity to do so obviously we've got still a few injuries who are looking for a return in the upcoming weeks hopefully but we'll have to see that squad rotation with the injuries has probably become harder and you've got a lot of plays there with a lot of experience so we're sort of around only two left outside the squad where at one time we were maybe five or six so we're in that position at this moment in time and that comes from the busy schedule and how frequent the games are at the minute and the stress upon the body so we're trying as well as we can to try and rotate and be flexible in what we do but it's not as easy as it seems at times maybe but we're trying to do the best we can When we talk about squad rotation conversely, Elliot Watten, Levi Sutton have started every single game under you and Mark since you came in how do you think they're coping with that workload? Yeah I think there's it's like throughout the season players have ups and downs and that happens to them as well and you can probably maybe see it with decision making at times when people start to get fatigued they generally make worse decisions so that's something that we're monitoring as well as players that can also play in that position who can be flexible and versatile to slot in there but again they're massive to the team as well and if you're taking Elliot Watten or Levi Sutton chances are you maybe lose some of the edge and some of the qualities that they do bring to the side and also with them types of players they're robust in terms of being able to do a lot of work and if you're centre half you do a lot of different running than a centre midfielder so these guys have been used to it for years but again we're trying to be clever in what we do You leave me on to my next question then if you were to rest either one of those two who could play in that role? You've got options of changing formation at times maybe to have just one sitter, a centre midfielder but again you've maybe got an O'Connor who can play in there and you've got Evans who can play in there you've got Scales who's played in there who's obviously a young player but performing well so they're the main ones I think Reston who can play in there when he gets back so these options it's just when we do that and whether we feel that's best for the team or whether we change the way that we play to put less load on the players as well and that's got to be put into context as well When you make that judgement call if you need to make that judgement call will that be based on your position or indeed the workload of your own players? I think we look more in advance in the next two weeks if you're playing a team that constantly keeps possession then you've got to think about different ways because you're probably going to do a lot more running in the game so these factors come into it if you're playing a team that maybe you're going to sit off and defend the spaces a little bit more you can afford to have a Levi and Elliot in there all every game because the distances that they're covering are going to be a lot smaller so it's the way that we tweak it's the way that we try and monitor that but again all we're trying to do is do what we can to win the game What terms of Callum Cook's absence a little further up the field have you found the answer yet to how you look to fill that spot? I think it's hard to say if there's an answer Callum's obviously a good player for us and it's unfortunate that he's injured and we've tried different options in there and again it's probably wrong to think that if somebody's ever going to come into that position for one game and be ready to be a Callum Cook because it takes time to get used to the different pressures the different formations you play against the different types of teams and the movements etc so it's not something that it's easily slotted in and you've got another Callum Cook waiting In terms of players that could play one is of course Billy Clark how is he in terms of team news wise? Billy's had a muscle strain we've been monitoring it and we're hoping he's going to be around it tomorrow again but as you know with these conversations that's probably at best How about everyone else? Yeah so there's no real there's no new injury worries you've got obviously Billy and Cookie the most recent ones but apart from that we're good to go I feel like this probably gets asked to you every time we speak to you ahead of a game but Bryce's situation I know it's been a frustrating one for you what's the update on that? Yeah so you know Bryce has sort of looked at his injury at the minute and where he is with his rehab and things like that and again it's a setback that we're trying to monitor and get to the bottom of and when we have maybe clearer news I'll possibly, I'd say next week early next week we'll have some news on that to let you know further Is there a possibility with Bryce that his season could be over with Bryce and Titi? I think you've always got that chance when you're not really sure what the problem is you know if something's not healing the way it needs to heal then you know there's ways and means that you can help that and that may require surgery and things like that where fingers cross that but it's not healed as well as we'd have expected so we'll have to wait and see How much are leads playing a role in his rehab? Yeah I mentioned it last week around the communication and working together as clubs and we do that fantastically well as well as leads so everybody's got the best interests of Bryce Away from team news just talking about the season more generally I think I'm right in saying that the point on Saturday leaves you 12 off the table 9 off the playoffs with 2 in hand I think it's 17 off the drop zone which is good news in that respect Is mid table corner where you expect to see Bradford Titi come the end of the season? I still think it's unknown because of how unpredictable the league is you know you've seen Scumfop go and runs you've seen teams in the league go on crazy runs so it's hard to say but I think our ambition is to get as many points as possible and see where that takes us and again try and become better as a team develop and improve and I'm sure if we do those things we're going to put ourselves in a better position but again we're trying to work out as we can to climb as much as we can as well I think the recent dip in form has probably offered a bit of perspective as to where this season could be for Bradford Titi you've always been very diplomatic with the playoffs whenever it's been mentioned but I just wondered going back to something you said probably around Christmas time about the underdog mentality and that's how it suited you guys going into games do you think the form of late allows you to maybe retake that underdog mentality as opposed to being the side that are expected to win as a result of the run of wins? It's a good question I probably can't answer it but for teams and things like that I mentioned it before where I think the skill of teams who are doing well is to keep that underdog mentality and to keep that drive and that consistency and that will to not ever take your foot off the gas and we weren't under any illusions that the run and the form was going to come to an end because it's not as simple I think if anybody had the perfect remedy then you know everyone would be winning the league or everyone would end up with loads of points so we were expecting dips but again I think the signs are that we've got a really good group who are putting everything into every game in terms of their efforts and the endeavour and we just got to get back on track and push up the table if we can I suppose what I'm trying to get at is whether or not there's maybe an instinctive complacency that apportioning that to anyone directly but given that your safety is somewhat confirmed not mathematically that maybe foots are taken off the gas somewhat or do you look at it in a different way? No I don't think so I just think factors come into the play and it's like the Newport game we played really well and lost the game to decisions that hurt us and it was set plays and we looked comfortable for large parts I'd probably say the Carlisle game is maybe the worst one that we've performed at for certain reasons and we got to the bottom of them reasons and reflected as staff and we've played the last game at Oldman we've played them four times this year and that's the best result we've got so Borgie teams are real as well and we've got to be mindful and be switched on that it's not going to be a perfect world and we're going to hit bumps and speed bumps along the way and it's how we respond Spockwell four times playing Oldman it's third time lucky against Scumbag tomorrow you do eventually play them hopefully whether permitted although I can't see any change in that how big a change inside are they from when you played that 30 or so minutes last time in February? In terms of the squad selection but again it's like everybody's playing a lot of games at the time at this moment in time and you're starting to see maybe changes to tactics in terms of players and teams pressing as much because maybe if they do get picked off you've got players that can't recover back into the shape so you probably see a little bit more selective in how people are operating at the minute just because of the schedule Final one from me I've got a question on the goalkeeping situation I thought Mark explained it pretty well on Saturday but does that then mean given the reasoning as to why Richard was selected on Saturday that the door is still open for Sam and it's not a case of Richard is now the number one for the foreseeable I think what Sam's shown is that he's capable of being the number one at this club and at another club because of the games that he played and you know the saves that he made the clean sheets he had so I think it was a really good experience for Sam to be at that level and to have that and I think 14 game run where he played in goal and we've changed it for a number of reasons that Mark explained but again it's performance related now that we know that Sam's capable so it's a healthy competition they're both aware and let's see what happens but again we've got two really good keepers who are fighting for that spot and you can't bring one on just to get somebody on so it's a tough one. Cheers Connor. Thank you. Hi there. On that goalkeeping situation how difficult is it with that position as you said it's not like another position where you can just bring one up for a change it's not something that usually happens unless there's an injury or a red card so how difficult is it to get the game time for the player that isn't playing? Yeah and it's you know you can have actual keepers that have 20 year careers and don't really play that many games because they've been second choice and I think it takes a certain type of mindset I think it takes as they come through the development to learn how to be a number two and even to be a number three at times and that's a totally different skill to if you're an outfield player you're getting opportunities off the bench and things like that but again how do we operate with that you know you work them hard you work them harder than the number one because he's obviously playing the games it's about their character it's about having games you know midweek and things like that to keep them amongst it so and that's kind of the situation that we find ourselves in. I suppose it helps as well that it tends to be a case that the goalkeepers are pretty much a unit at a club and they all support each other yeah and you can see that support from Salmon from Rich and from Will and Rich was around the squad when he was injured and he's the club captain and it was brilliant to have him around as another voice and another personality that's going to try and bring the most out of the people around him. Just changing the subject slightly do you think there's a case to say that because of the run you went on other teams start to take more notice of Bradford and maybe put more attention to how to stop Bradford playing. Potentially it could be a reason because of the form and things like that only they'll maybe know but again Bradford City is a really big game and everybody treats it as a big game and obviously when you come to Bradford City and you've got such a big stadium and such a big history it's always going to be a big game so you know where we as a club have got to expect that we've got to expect that pressure and expect that people are going to probably be at the highest in terms of the motivation so we've got to go out there and do the business every game so that's kind of how it is at the minute. Thanks very much, good luck tomorrow. Cheers for that, thank you. Hi Connor, it's just Nathan at the T&A looking it back to where the game gets to hold them, obviously the clean sheets were such a hallmark of that really good run last month was that for all it was a bit of a spot and to not get the free punch was that really a big tick for you in the box to get a clean sheet back? Yeah I think as coaches you've got to make sure that a long term especially it's a gradual process and you're trying to improve we've had a really good defence in terms of goals conceded since we've come in and we've tried to make the team really organised so that they know in their roles etc and we feel that they're at a point where they're constantly getting better they're going to have games where they do concede more goals because it does happen but again a clean sheet is brilliant because it shows that everybody's working hard it's not just the keeper it's not just the back four in this team everybody works hard you know from the front the striker pressing to make it difficult for the centre halves to play passes in behind etc so it's a team effort and I still think we've played like that in the past in one games and it's about sometimes you have to grind it out and there's also been games where we've completely controlled the game but also worked hard so I think as time goes on we've sort of made progress with the defensive work and we're constantly looking evaluating and trying to improve the forward area as well as not losing the defensive record and the defensive stability. No definitely and obviously for you guys you obviously have odd defeats like the exit one but this is probably the first sort of real test in terms of a bad run I mean how much of it is just unlucky like you said and just as soon as you get to a new port I think maybe little tweaks need to start getting made to sort of arrest a softball game run without a win. Yeah we've got as much data at our disposal at this club we've got lots of things that can indicate who can do what and again there's an argument as well as there's nothing as good as your eyes, your two eyes when you're looking out there and seeing the fatiguing players I don't think it's as well as I think as we were going along there was going to be blips there was going to be moments where we didn't perform as well but what I'm proud of is that the players are still giving absolutely everything even though it's going against them at times which shows longer term that they can come back from it. No definitely and Jamie obviously touched upon it sort of but like you said it's the third time that you went to play this game you said you've got all that data available as a club how much of it is a case of saying like you've obviously prepared for those two games before how much of it is saying look this is our dossier and it's going to go again or how much of you have to tweak from that last time that you were due to play them? It's without giving too much away things change teams come in you get some coaches who can see weaknesses in us and weaknesses in other teams and they maybe switch their tactics because of reasons that they've got a different number nine playing or they've found a different way to hurt teams so you can't just go it's a dossier on scum form and we stick to that and it's going to be the same one it's going to change No definitely and obviously they've only got one win in the last eight days they've struggled a bit since that abandonment I mean how much do you focus on that as an opposition manager a team that has been struggling or do you very much have to put yourselves first or do you look at that and think well that's not a great run they've been on we've got a really decent chance of doubling them here almost It's the same as Kyle Elgin I think they'd won the exact same thing and look what happened so we're not going to look at that and feel that we're entitled to win any game we've got to go out there and perform and make sure that we're playing at our maximum and that's non-negotiable for the players to play at their maximum You said about playing at the maximum and stuff just finally from me obviously their last two games they have scored equalise an injury time you said like you started to feel it in the legs a bit against them after 65-70 how much is it just drilling that in the play as much as you can even if you're getting tired just try and keep your focus right totally and because it's the team that have proven they can go right to the end and sort of salvage stuff Yeah of course obviously seeing them goals and where they've come from and things like that and we've got to be prepared for what they throw at us even if we are 1-0 up or 2-1 up or even down we've got to have things in up our sleeves to change the game like they've done and they've had success in the last couple of weeks and it just alarms to you that excuse me that obviously they have a lot of threats especially in the dying minutes where they're going for the equaliser so it shows a good character from their point of view they're going to go to the last minute and we've got to be ready for that if that's the case and yeah just actually won last while so they brought in it was a fairly quiet window for them compared to you guys but they brought in Jim Parrotan obviously he's been a big name in the past from all the big clubs like your Reds and your Boltons and he's got experience in Europe etc I mean what causes heat is what we got to watch out for him he's played a lot at a higher level so he's bringing that down lead to almost Yeah he's a good player he's a really good talented player, great on the ball Caesar Pass got good vision, good awareness and obviously got a really good move to Galatasaray at one time and now obviously he's playing for them and you know we've got to be aware of his his threats and you know respect to him because he's a really talented player Great stuff, thanks Alpana, thank you Hello Conno, it's just Leona at the Yorkshire Post I've only got a couple you were talking on the defensive you know good statistics and doing well obviously Niall Canavan you brought him in it seems to me he's been a big part of that as a new player coming in he's been everything that you've wanted it's like he's been here for a long time Yeah Niall's gelled in really well into the back four I'd probably say that and Porty had done the they'd played majority of those games and done really well defensively as well so I think it's hard to just put it onto one person Niall is Niall organises his cool calm heads everything and he's composed he uses his body well and he's been a really good signing and we're looking to you know cement that chemistry even more and get them knowing each other's game inside out and that relationship is crucial but yeah he's been a good signing so far There's those mainstays at the back they're really fundamentally important for any success aren't they in your division Yeah of course again if you're leaking goals you're going to make it hard for yourself and conceding goals puts worry into your minds and to know that you've got a team full of players that work hard and don't want to concede it allows you to go and hurt teams on the counter and even if you're controlling games to hurt them in a different way and just finding maybe if you do win tomorrow you get to 51 points and then psychologically getting past that 50 point I think that would be something that would be a big achievement and show how long you've sort of come really Yeah I think like you say it would be nice to get over that mark and we'll see what happens we'll give it a good go and you know hoping the players performing we'll do everything in our powers to make that happen brought to you by keeping companies connected with cloud based solutions come on city