Forest Green v Bradford City: Pressing argument as Graham Alexander reinforces his message

Alexander would have been forgiven for wondering what he had gotten himself into when his new team trailed Notts County 4-0 at the break last Saturday, just a game and a half into his Valley Parade tenure.

But a shift to a 3-5-2 to shore up his defence and create more width through the wing-backs has seen Bradford outscore their opponents 8-1 over the subsequent five halves of football, culminating in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Accrington Stanley in League Two.

Next up is Tuesday night’s trip to Forest Green, with Alexander insisting that while creating positive outcomes, the 3-5-2 formation might not necessarily be here to stay.

“It’s not about the opponent,” said Alexander. “Whenever I pick a formation or a team it’s about what we can do. I will pick a formation that suits our individuals and that’s probably why I got it wrong in the first game, game and a half.

“We’ve seen a formation that’s worked the last couple of games but let’s not get carried away.”

What is here to stay under Alexander is pressing higher up the pitch. "There’ll be times when a team pins you in, but I don’t want us to be a team that takes a step backwards, we have to take a step forwards,” he said. “The players are getting to grips with that and they see the rewards. Results help, they strengthen the message.

"But these guys are mobile enough, you don’t have to be an aggressive team, you can use your intelligence and your positioning to be able to engage and win a race, so it’s just getting that balance right.”

With only day to work with his players between the game at Accrington and the trip to Gloucestershire, Alexander will be focusing on reinforcing his mantra.

"We won’t be changing the message too much,” he said. "We want our players to feel comfortable by not changing week to week depending on the opposition. It will just be on the selection because we need to see how quickly boys can recover.”