Bradford City v Cheltenham Town: New decade offers new hope

NEW Year, new start: that is the message from Stuart McCall to his Bradford City side ahead of 2010's opening game.

The Bantams have had 12 months to forget with the club's promotion challenge having stalled. City's fortunes mirrored those of the entire first decade of the new Millennium as they slid from the Premier League to League Two.

However, with Cheltenham Town due at Valley Parade today, McCall insists the time has come to look forward.

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He said: "It is a new start for everyone at the club. I am glad to see the back of 2009 and I know everyone at the club will feel the same about the whole decade. It has been a miserable time but that is behind us now. What matters is Cheltenham and the game after that.

"Results have not been great lately but we are still within touching distance of the play-offs. What we need to do now is go on a big run of results like Morecambe and Accrington have done recently."

City kick-started their season back in August with a 5-4 win at Cheltenham ending a four-game run without scoring a goal. McCall added: "We went on a 10-game unbeaten run after the win down there and it would be great to do the same, though this time with more wins than draws."

Joe McLaughlin will start only his second game in goal for Bradford after Simon Eastwood, an ever-present this season, returned to Huddersfield Town.