Body talks for Bradford City boss Graham Alexander as League Two club announce key football appointment

The claret-and-amber jersey can wear particularly heavy for players amid tough times - and it is a time when the true characters stay strong and manage to stick their chests out.

Still in the relatively early stages of his tenure at the club, Alexander is finding out a bit more about his players on an individual basis by each passing week.

The trick at City, certainly at this level, is having the coping mechanism to handle the hard moments. Ability is key, but so is attitude and body language.

Alexander, whose side showed some welcome character over Easter with a four-point haul from two matches, said: “That’s one of the things I said at half-time (at Harrogate recently). Who’s got their head up and who’s looking at their feet?

"It tells you a lot. It’s a window into the mind.

"Sometimes you don’t feel (good) and want to look down. But it’s about cracking on and making the best of our lives, for our job, our club and our support and that’s what we’re going to try and do.

"If we do that, I believe in the long term we’ll have the success we all crave.”

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Behind the scenes, the club have announced a significant development moving forward with the appointment of former Wigan Athletic chairman and Mansfield Town chief executive David Sharpe as the club’s head of football operations - in a newly-created role.

City CEO Ryan Sparks said: "This is a position I have been looking to add to our football department for some time and, following my conversation with Stefan (Rupp) last week, I now have the resources to be able to do so.

"I am always keen to bring the best talent to our organisation, and David represents another great addition to Bradford City.

"He will be working alongside our manager and head of recruitment, Graham and Stephen (Gent - head of recruitment), as well as our head of academy, Mark Litherland.

"I have known David for some time. Over the years, we have had several conversations - particularly when he was running one of our rivals, Mansfield Town - and we are very much aligned in our thinking.”