Bradford City: Clarke praised as Burke returns for record bid

The 19-year-old will stay at Valley Parade until January 2 after agreement was reached yesterday with the defender’s parent club, West Ham United.

Interest from an unnamed Championship club is understood to have last week put Burke’s chances of rejoining Bradford in serious doubt following the completion of a two-month loan spell.

However, Parkinson has worked hard to hold on to the defender, who played 13 games for City before suffering a minor knee injury, and his efforts have been rewarded.

“Reece has been excellent for us,” said the Valley Parade chief. “We are very pleased that he is remaining with us, as we are going to need everyone over this busy Christmas period.”

In Burke’s absence, Nathan Clarke has deputised admirably and Parkinson has been quick to stress that the teenager’s return does not mean he will go straight back into the starting XI.

He added: “We are going to need everyone going forward. I thought Nathan Clarke was immense (in Tuesday’s goalless draw at home to leaders Coventry).

“He is another one who has come in after not a lot of football and played three games in a week and done really well.”

Tuesday’s goalless draw means City have gone seven games and 668 minutes without conceding.

Another shut-out of Walsall on Saturday will match a club record for league and cup outings that was set in the 1910-11 season.

Parkinson added: “We are pleased with how things are going. We have crept in the top six but we have got to be ready for Saturday.

“We have to go to Walsall really committed again because that desire is so important. We wanted three points against Coventry, as we always do, but we gladly took one.”

A surprise inclusion in the Bradford starting XI was James Hanson, who had been expected to be out for up to three or four weeks. Parkinson explained: “It was a call we made because ‘Hans’ had done part of the training on Monday. To be fair to ‘Hans’, he really wanted to be part of it.”