Bradford City boss Graham Alexander issues warning to his players - and challenge to Stephen Humphrys
Bradford City boss Graham Alexander has warned his players they need to have a “counter mindset” - and thrown down the gauntlet to Stephen Humphrys.
The Bantams enjoyed plenty of control as they clinched a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town, but the Cobblers had their fair share of chances.
Stephen Humphrys opened the scoring and although the hosts did come close to netting a second on numerous occasions, the Cobblers threatened too.
Post-match, Alexander conceded his side were too “open”.
Graham Alexander’s ‘open’ admission
He said: "It was a hard game for us. It wasn't easy at any moment. They were always in the game and had a few opportunities on the counter. We had to defend our box really well.
“I thought we were a little bit open, a little bit gung-ho. We want to be an attacking team and the players want to score more goals, obviously.
“But there’s a counter mindset we have to have. If it gets turned over, are we in the right positions to press, counterpress, stop them coming through? I just thought we were a little bit open.
"We have to make sure we’re not as open going forward in other games but the game right now is about winning and scoring more goals than the opponent. That’s what we’ve done today.”
Challenge for Stephen Humphrys
Humphrys was making his first League One start since January and marked his return to the starting XI with a decisive goal.
The 28-year-old has been chomping at the bit for minutes and his manager has challenged him to find consistency to become a regular.
He said: “I sat down with Humps at the start of this week. I spoke to him about positioning and that sort of thing, the nine, the 10.
“I think when I look back to the start of the season, how he played against Wycombe on the first day of the season, he was unplayable. I sort of relayed that to him.
“I thought he’d shown that in training this week. He’s a brilliant finisher, one of the cleanest strikers of the ball, left and right foot. He can also head it, as we saw today. I think he’s got a real calm demeanour in front of goal.
“If he can be consistent with that, and play on that last line and play like a nine, then I don’t see loads better than him at this level. But he has to understand what he can bring to the team. I thought he did that today for his teammates and I’m really pleased for him.”