Bradford City v AFC Wimbledon: Parkinson expects The Dons to serve up tough encounter

IN a division where even last season’s champions Swindon Town suffered a double figure tally of defeats, reading too much into the results of the opening week can be dangerous.

So, as Bradford City prepare to host AFC Wimbledon tomorrow, manager Phil Parkinson will understandably be taking nothing for granted against the re-formed London outfit who were thrashed 6-2 at Burton Albion in midweek.

“It would be naive of anyone, supporter or player, to think for one second that Wimbledon will not be as tough as Fleetwood,” said the City chief, whose side claimed an impressive 1-0 victory over Micky Mellon’s newly-promoted side on Tuesday night.

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“Wimbledon may have lost in midweek but they beat Chesterfield on the opening day so I am sure their directors and manager will be expecting them to build on last year to mount a challenge.

“Like a lot of clubs, they will have a lot of optimism at the moment.

“Anyway, it is always dangerous to read too much into the first few games.

“I believe this is a division where a team that are completely not expected to do anything can have a good season.

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“Wimbledon had a really bad 45 minutes on Tuesday, that was it. Burton exploited that but we also know we played Wimbledon three times last year and every one of them was tough.

“Saturday will be exactly the same and we will have to be on it just as much as Tuesday if we want to get three points.

“If you are a team that has been together for a while and got good spirit, that can count for a lot.

“You cannot write any team off in this division.

“There is not a great deal between the top and bottom teams in this division. We showed that last year.

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“In the Premier league, the resources that the top teams have means there is a big gap.

“But in League Two, the playing field is much more level.”

City were impressive in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Fleetwood and Parkinson added: “I was really pleased with a lot of our play but we have to follow that up.”