Bradford City v Burton Albion: Bantams locked in survival fight admits Jackson

PETER JACKSON has warmed up for Bradford City’s “biggest game in years” tonight by insisting he is still the man to rebuild the club.

The Bantams are locked in a fight for survival at the bottom of the Football League after a turbulent season that has seen points almost as hard to come by as goals.

A bumper crowd of around 15,000 is expected at Valley Parade tonight for the visit of fellow strugglers Burton Albion after ticket prices were slashed to just £1.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

City go into the game knowing that victory will all but banish any threat of relegation. Should they lose, however, then fresh hope will be given to second-bottom Barnet that the six-point advantage held by Bradford can be overturned in the final four games.

The stakes, therefore, are high as interim manager Jackson readily concedes.

“I would say this is our biggest game in years,” said the 50-year-old to the Yorkshire Post.

“It is probably the biggest since David Wetherall scored the winner against Liverpool to keep Bradford in the Premier League (in 2000) and certainly one of the biggest of my managerial career.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We are expecting a big crowd and I can’t emphasise to the supporters coming along just how big a part they could have to play.

Bradford City not being in the Football League is totally unthinkable, so we need the three points as quickly as possible.

“A win would take the pressure off and allow the football club to settle down ahead of what could be an eventful summer.”

The “eventful summer” Jackson talks of could, as the Yorkshire Post revealed last week, include a move from Valley Parade to Odsal due to City no longer being able to meet the £1.2m cost of renting and playing at their home of more than a century.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bradford are hoping to strike a deal with their landlords – the family pension fund of former chairman Gordon Gibb and investment firm Prupim – to cut in half the current rent of around £760,000.

Adding to the air of uncertainty is the Bantams’ lack of a permanent manager, something that the board had been hoping to rectify by Easter.

Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still and former Hibernian chief John Hughes are believed to be vying with Jackson for the post but an appointment now seems unlikely until the summer, meaning the current man in situ has five games left to stake his own claim.

Bradford-born Jackson said: “Being the manager of Bradford City next season would be a privilege and honour – regardless of whether it is at Valley Parade, Odsal or wherever.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I hate seeing where this club is in the Football League but I am big enough and strong enough to carry us forward.

“Having been here a couple of months, I can see exactly what needs to be sorted out. This club needs rebuilding from the bottom up, with youth being an important part of that process.

“Twelve or 13 players are out of contract (in the summer) and that gives us a chance to make changes.

“This season has been all about survival, it couldn’t be anything else because of the position the club was in when I was appointed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But that will not be good enough next season. I believe with a lot of hard work and everyone pulling together, we can do good things.”

City’s main problem this season is clear for all to see with only Sheffield United having netted fewer goals than their tally of 38.

Such a paltry return from 41 games is why Bradford sit 87th in the English football pyramid and seem on course for their second lowest final position since the current four-division set-up was introduced in 1958.

City, who ended the 1965-55 campaign second bottom of the Fourth Division, welcome back fit-again James Hanson and Steve Williams for the visit of Burton, while Omar Daley has been recalled from a loan spell at Rotherham United.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jackson said: “Omar brings pace, which is something we don’t really have. He is the sort of player who gets fans off their seats and I want to see him take the game to Burton.

“He is as good as anyone in this division. I have said to Omar: ‘You can become a Bradford folk-hero if you help us get the three points that keep us up’.”

On the cut-price deal that meant supporters who visited the Valley Parade ticket office before 5pm yesterday could buy a ticket for just £1, the City chief added: “It is going to be a big atmosphere and that requires big players and big performances. We have to rise to the occasion as the fans, who have been brilliant to me since I came back, deserve a big display.”

Jackson, who was watching from the main stand when City last slashed ticket prices for February’s 3-2 win over Stockport, added: “I haven’t slept much over the past couple of weeks, due to thinking about the club’s position. But a win over Burton will mean a good night’s sleep.”

Last six games: Bradford City WDLLWLL, Burton Albion WLDLLW.

Last time: Bradford City 1 Burton Albion 1; September 12, 2009; League Two.

Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancashire).