Bradford City boss McCall ready to duel with enigmatic Mowbray

Be it the 1988 play-off semi-finals that saw Mowbray’s Middlesbrough knock out Bradford City or the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League 11 years later that saw McCall this time prevail over his Ipswich Town counterpart, the pair knew they were in for a battle when on opposing sides.

Throw in some tasty Celtic-Rangers tussles in the early Nineties and it is clear tomorrow’s visit to Valley Parade by Mowbray’s Blackburn Rovers will be played against the background of a shared history in the dugouts.

“Tony as a manager is very different to how he was as a player,” said McCall, who expects to welcome back striker Charlie Wyke to the bench after a five-week lay-off.

“Then, he was a dominant and aggressive centre-half. He also couldn’t trap a bag of cement – he could trap it further than I could head it. Get that in The Yorkshire Post.

“No, seriously, he was a good player. Now, though, his teams play very differently to how he did. We played his Coventry side last year and we struggled for the first 20 minutes.

“His teams always play good football and he comes up with different systems. We will have no idea how Blackburn will play on Saturday, just as they will find it hard to second-guess what we will do.”

Asked if he got to know Mowbray during their shared time together in Glasgow, McCall - a six-time title winner with Rangers – joked: “No, none of the green and whites dared show their faces in that era. They couldn’t even go out for a coffee because we were winning everything.

“But I have since spent time in his company a couple of times and he is a big gentleman. A real football man and a student of the game.”

City have taken six points from their opening two fixtures, a record that contrasts sharply with that of Rovers who are yet to get off the mark after defeats to Southend United and Doncaster Rovers.

“We are not hoodwinked by us winning two and them losing two,” added the City manager.

“They will come here with a determination. Looking at Blackburn’s squad, if it is not the best then it is certainly in the top three in League One when it comes to depth and ability.

“A lot of attacking players have arrived in the summer. They have players who are Championship ability.”