Blackpool, Blackpool, Blackpool. Bradford City spent their Wednesday night playing away to a Champions League team, and yet all Graham Alexander can think about is Blackpool.

The midweek cup fixture was reward for a very good start to the League One season – not spoilt by the 4-1 scoreline – but Alexander is more driven by extending it. It is why, unusually for a manager, he has not even watched the last game back yet.

"I spent all morning watching Blackpool," he says.

"The next game is always the most important game.

"The type of game that was played on Wednesday won't be repeated for us too often so there's only so much you can take from it. I think there were things for us to take from it as a future reference point about how top players go about their business day in, day out.

"We have done, I think, reasonably well this season and at the back end of last season looking at two or three games as a group and trying to keep the squad as in tact as possible.

"The players came in and trained exactly as normal, which is great to see."

If things are going better than expected for the newly-promoted Bantams, who went top of the table by winning at Cardiff City last week, the opposite is true of Steve Bruce’s Tangerines, who are in the relegation zone. "You have to look at the opposition and expect them at their best level, then make sure they can't reach that level as often as possible and play your own game," insists Alexander. "It's stood us in good stead over the last 18 months playing different teams at different levels."

TUNNEL VISION: Graham Alexander's mind is squarely on Blackpool (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

placeholder image — TUNNEL VISION: Graham Alexander's mind is squarely on Blackpool (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Equally, he is not reading too much into Blackpool's stoppage-time winner over Barnsley on Saturday.

"I think momentum can be blown up a little bit," he argues. "People talk about our start this season being down to the momentum carried on from last season but we only won of our last six or seven games.

"We've started this season really well; but it can change in an instant both ways.

"We have to understand what our game is based upon, understand the quality we have and bring it as often as possible – in training and games. If we can do that consistently we believe we have the attributes, the gameplan, the players that can beat more opponents than not. That will always be our plan.

BIG NIGHT OUT: Brad Halliday and Bobby Pointon on the St James' Park pitch before Wednesday's cup tie (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

"I do recognise what a good moment it is to be part of Bradford City but we have to work exceptionally hard to keep it there. I believe we have the players and the staff members to keep that focus going forward."

Top-scorer Will Swan's non-involvement on Wednesday was proof Alexander’s argument is not just words.

"If he'd have played on Wednesday he would have definitely struggled for Blackpool," he says.

"When there's games every three days, if you looked at our data and what we've outputted in the last two (league) games to win those games against the top opposition in our league, you understand that we had to have fresh legs on Wednesday. I trust all my players. I don't see a strongest XI and substitutes.

"I see that there's a real competitive edge all the way through there. But if I don't support them by giving them game time, then it's just empty words. I believe in them all.

"What we want to have is consistently have a 20-man squad available to choose from. To achieve that, we have to rotate the team at times."

Bradford have no new injuries to contend with.