Bradford City manager Derek Adams pleads for patience and insists Harrogate Town 'didn't deserve' to win League Two derby

Derek Adams says he needs time to "sort things out" at Bradford City after the Bantams fell to a disappointing defeat at Harrogate Town on Saturday afternoon.

A remarkable performance from home goalkeeper Mark Oxley played a key part in Harrogate's victory as the 31-year-old made a string of fine saves to deny Bradford trio Tom Elliott, Jamie Walker and Andy Cook twice.

Jack Diamond scored twice to seal all three points for the hosts and mark the end of a frustrating week for Bradford, who have now dropped eight points from the last nine available.

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The Bantams are seven points adrift of the play-off spots and a further 11 behind the automatic promotion places.

“I was brought to the club because I’ve been promoted out of it twice but managers have to be given time to sort things out," said Adams following Saturday's derby defeat.

"There have been a lot of managers at this club and, while I know everybody wants instant success including me, it doesn’t work if you keep hiring and firing.

“We dominated this game for long spells and didn’t give them any opportunities but, when they did get a chance, we went 1-0 down after a deflection.

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"We should have been well ahead by then with the number of chances we created, but their keeper was the man of the match."

MANAGER: Derek Adams. Pictures: Getty Images.MANAGER: Derek Adams. Pictures: Getty Images.
MANAGER: Derek Adams. Pictures: Getty Images.

Bradford had 17 shots to Harrogate's 10 and double the number of shots on target, with Oxley's saves proving just as crucial as Diamond's goals.

“He [Oxley] made some unbelievable saves. The second goal then killed the game, but Harrogate didn’t deserve to win," added Adams.

“Nobody at the match could have said that they did, but they had three shots and got two goals.

"We made a mistake for their second goal and, at the moment, every error is getting punished, but we’re not doing the same to teams.”