Cheltenham Town v Bradford City: Wembley on the minds of Bantams admits McCall

STUART MCCALL senses his Bradford City players are eyeing a Wembley trip in the Checkatrade Trophy.
Billy Clarke: Striker is back in action tonight for Bradford City after a lengthy injury lay-off.Billy Clarke: Striker is back in action tonight for Bradford City after a lengthy injury lay-off.
Billy Clarke: Striker is back in action tonight for Bradford City after a lengthy injury lay-off.

The Bantams head to Cheltenham tonight for the final tie of the third round in the much-maligned competition. The prize is a quarter-final trip to Oxford United, scheduled for a week tonight.

After four previous outings in the Trophy, whose new look has proved a massive turn-off for supporters, suddenly the stakes have been raised as the April 2 final hones into view.

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“I have been listening to the lads (around the training ground) and they are suddenly talking about the Checkatrade,” said McCall, who could welcome back Billy Clarke tonight after the player recovered from a calf injury that has kept the City striker out since mid-November.

“Other than Hampden, Wembley is the best place to play! And our lads fancy it.”

Trips to Cheltenham and, providing tonight can be negotiated successfully, Oxford on back-to-back Tuesdays in January is far from ideal but there are financial compensations for progressing.

Victory at Whaddon Road would earn Bradford £40,000 in prize money, while another win at the Kassam Stadium would bring a further £50,000. For a club that went out of the FA and League Cups at the first hurdle, this is not an inconsequential sum. To McCall, however, progress in the Trophy can have a positive knock-on effect in the league.

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“Look at Barnsley last year,” said the former Scotland international. “They won the Trophy and it had a great knock-on effect for their league season. Barnsley went up but we are in a better position than where they were at this stage last year.

“I don’t like losing games anyway but we want to go through. We have had four games already, we have got this far and we want to go further.

“Wembley is a long way away when you play Stoke at home in August. But that isn’t the case any more and the lads are, as I say, talking about it. We probably started talking about how far we can go after Morecambe.”

Last six games: Cheltenham Town WLLLWW, Bradford City DDDWWL.

Referee: B Malone (Wiltshire).

Last time: Cheltenham Town 0, Bradford City 0; April 27, 2013; League Two.