MICHAEL Duff has praised the attitude of Bradford City midfielder George Lapslie – with a matchday chat with him and his young family earlier this month revealing plenty about his character to the recently-appointed Bantams chief.

The former Gillingham player, who has struggled for regular opportunities at league level since the club’s promotion to League One in particular, started his first league match under Duff in last weekend’s draw at Oxford United.

With Calum Connolly suspended for Saturday’s home derby with Huddersfield Town, the 29-year-old – who also lined up from the off in the midweek EFL Cup win over Peterborough United – looks to have a fair chance of retaining his place this weekend.

Alongside his aptitude on the pitch, Duff has been impressed by Lapslie’s character.

Bradford City's George Lapslie and Peterborough United's Brandon Khela battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup, fourth round match at Mbanq Valley Parade, Bradford. Picture date: Tuesday October 27, 2026.

placeholder image — Bradford City's George Lapslie and Peterborough United's Brandon Khela battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup, fourth round match at Mbanq Valley Parade, Bradford. Picture date: Tuesday October 27, 2026.

Duff said: “It was the Stevenage game and he got left out of the squad.

"There's a little common room that the players all go and sit in and I walked in. He was sat there with his two daughters.

"It can be really awkward. We don't really know each other and I've just left him out of the squad.

"I had a really good chat with him for 20 minutes when the lads were warming up because it's dead time for me. I really enjoyed it.

Bradford City manager Michael Duff during the Carabao Cup, fourth round match at Mbanq Valley Parade, Bradford. Picture date: Tuesday October 27, 2026.

“He could have made it awkward by asking, ‘why have you left me out of the team?’ He could have just walked out with his girls.

"But I had a good chat with him and with the girls.

"That's the good bit of building those relationships. Again, it probably tells you everything about him in terms of humility.”

As for Lapslie’s best role on the pitch, Duff commented: “I’m probably still trying to work that out in terms of where it fits in this system.

"Obviously, he's played lots of different positions. One thing he's good at is his energy.

"He's got some quality as well, but he can press. His out-of-possession stuff is really, really good.

"He gets us on the front foot, but he can handle the ball as well. With what we've got in those areas of the pitch, we've got three or four positions available to him.

"It helps us in terms of being versatile.”

City’s midweek cup win secured them a glamour tie in the quarter-finals at Manchester City in mid-December, but the one downer on the night saw Lapslie booked – meaning he will miss the trip across the Pennines after a previous caution in the earlier rounds.

Asked whether the ban is harsh, Duff continued: “It’s above my pay grade. The rules are the rules. There's no point in me saying what I've not really thought about to be honest.

"I think it's five bookings in 19 games (for a league suspension), the other threshold, so it's one in four. One in two is probably a little bit harsh, but it is what it is.

"One thing that it tells you again, he's not thinking about, if I get booked in this game, I might miss this.

"For me, he's doing the right thing for the team at that moment. Again, that's a subliminal thing. That's a conscious decision when you're playing a game of football.

"When that's embedded in the group, those subliminal decisions for the benefit of the team come out like that.”