Bradford City v Burton Albion: ‘Churchill’ Parkinson inspiration behind late City surge

“EVERY single game will be played like it’s our last,” began an emotional Phil Parkinson, microphone in hand, as he addressed Bradford City’s post-Wembley party just a few hours after the 5-0 defeat to Swansea City in February.
Garry ThompsonGarry Thompson
Garry Thompson

“We will run harder and tackle harder than the opposition. We will take that positive frame of mind into every game and if we haven’t done enough at the end, then we will hold our hands up.”

Sixty-seven days on from a six-minute speech that many of those present described as ‘Churchillian’ in its delivery and content, Parkinson’s men are closing in on a possible Wembley return.

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Burton Albion stand in the way of Bradford joining Sheffield Wednesday, York City and Middlesbrough as the only Yorkshire clubs to book two trips to the national stadium in the same season as the League Two play-offs get under way tonight.

City, in the play-offs for a third time, are hoping to claim a strong lead to take down to the Pirelli Stadium for Sunday’s return leg and midfielder Garry Thompson believes the club has the ideal manager to help them do just that.

“After the League Cup final, we were all a bit down in the dumps,” said the 32-year-old, who has twice won promotion at Wembley via the play-offs.

“But only for five to 10 minutes. The manager did a good job in picking us up again. He told us all how we might be disappointed with the result and how he understood it would be hurting.

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“He then said that hurt might continue for a time. But he also made it clear that before long we would be proud of the achievement of reaching the final.

“Let’s face it, not many teams have done what we did in getting to a major final. We shouldn’t lose sight of that and that was the point the manager wanted to make.

“The gaffer also reminded us of where we had come from and how what we had done was something that could never be taken away, regardless of the scoreline against Swansea.

“We perked up after that. We realised getting to a final was something special, and beyond the wildest dreams of anyone at the club.

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“After the disappointment of losing like we had at Wembley, being reminded of our achievements across the season was probably something we needed. That is why the gaffer’s speech was great.

“I think the value of it has been shown by our performances since Wembley. We all realised we should be fighting for promotion and now, here we are, possibly three games from achieving what we set out to achieve way back last summer.”

Regardless of how the play-offs pan out, the 2012-13 season can only be considered as one where Bradford City regained a sense of pride.

Becoming the first club from the basement division to battle through to a major Cup final understandably attracted most of the headlines. However, it is City’s first sustained promotion push in 14 years that has really marked this term down as a special one.

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Thompson, signed last summer from Scunthorpe United, said: “When I came to Bradford, the main aim was promotion. When I looked at the squad, I thought we should be in the mix.

“It has been a real roller-coaster. Of course, to get to a major final was beyond everyone’s dreams. No-one could have forecast that. But to still be in the play-offs after playing all these games, well that is an achievement in its own right.”

Tonight’s game will be the 62nd that Bradford have played this season, by some distance the club’s highest all-time tally.

Fifteen of those outings have been in the Cup and Thompson admits the final one did have unexpected consequences.

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“We took our eye off the ball for a time after losing at Wembley,” said the Kendal-born midfielder. “Maybe we became guilty of turning up on a Saturday and thinking, ‘We will win this, just as we did when beating Arsenal and Aston Villa’. It was maybe a trap we fell into.

“Thankfully, though, we put that right. You have to earn the right to get good results, that much is true about every level of football. And no-one can say we are not focused now.

“We have shown great character to get ourselves back into the mix and I think the squad is good enough to do well in the play-offs. Promotion has to be our 
aim.

“We have only done half the job by reaching the play-offs. It won’t count for anything if we now don’t go up.”

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A post-Wembley run-in that brought just two defeats from the final 15 games is why Bradford will tonight be taking on fourth-placed Burton Albion in front of the Sky cameras.

However, as recently as March 16 when Parkinson’s men crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Exeter City, Thompson admits such a prospect seemed remote at best.

He said: “It was great to qualify for the play-offs with a game to spare, especially considering where we were just a few weeks ago.

“After Exeter, I’d say there probably weren’t many giving us a chance but we have stuck at it and got our reward.

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“We have come a long way since that defeat but the hard work is only just beginning. I have been promoted via the play-offs (with Morecambe in 2007 and Scunthorpe two years later) and the key is making sure you are not overawed by the occasion.

“There will be a big crowd at Valley Parade and we have to make sure we put in a strong performance to make sure the tie is still very much alive going away. We have to have something to fight for in the second leg.”

City expect to be roared on by a bumper attendance tonight as they chase a first play-off final appearance since 1996, when promotion was secured to the second tier by a 2-0 win at Wembley against Notts County.

The club has, however, also experienced the flipside of play-off football after losing to Middlesbrough in the 1998 Division Two semi-finals,

Thompson added: “We want to turn a great season into an amazing season.”

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