Bradford City manager Graham Alexander's message to Bobby Pointon - plus request to fans ahead of seminal final day in League Two
AS the boyhood Bradford City supporter made good on the pitch, Bobby Pointon will have been inundated with messages from well-wishers in this most pivotal of weeks.
For a 21-year-old still in the relatively early stages of what many hope will be a long association with the Bantams, the Low Moor lad is close at hand to the fervent sense of expectation across the city ahead of Saturday's definitive League Two game against Fleetwood.
The importance of the match is colossal as City aim to register the win which would end six seasons in the fourth tier.
Equally, local boys can feel the pressure more than most and especially need to blank out the outside 'noise'.
Manager Graham Alexander said: "I would expect that to be the norm. I don’t think he has to go outside for that – his family are Bradford through and through, so he probably has that indoors as well!
"If you see Bobby this week, leave him. Wish him good luck and that’s it.
"Just for his own benefit because he’s a great lad and been a quality player for us this season, but he cannot win the game for us on his own."
One thing that Alexander is sure about is that Pointon has the mentality to cope with the situation and to understand the importance of playing the game and not the occasion.
Alexander added: "He’s a Bradford boy, loves the club and the whole club loves him. But he needs to understand where his success lies and it’s in the basics of the game.
"Since I’ve known him, he’s always been fighting to be successful, first in the team, then stay in and help win games for Bradford.
"It’s part of his journey as a young footballer about learning how to prepare for different types of games, understand if things haven’t gone well for you and why and then break it down to basics again and don’t go chasing a performance.”