Shrewsbury v Bradford City: Bantams chief Parkinson expects positive finish

Garry Thompson netted the only goal as Wycombe Wanderers were beaten at Valley Parade just three days after the campaign’s nadir, a 4-1 hammering at Exeter City, to kick-start a campaign that had seemed in danger of tailing off.

No-one at Valley Parade is expecting a similarly dramatic finale this time around as City head to Shrewsbury Town. Nevertheless, Phil Parkinson wants a positive finish.

“It feels a lot longer than a year,” said the Bantams chief when asked about how his players responded to the Exeter loss. “So much has happened since then.

“Not just promotion but the way we have tackled this season. League One is a tough division and we have had tough times during the season. But now, with 10 games to go, we want to push on and finish strongly.

“I have not set the team any targets or anything like that. Just to finish the season well and get the wins we need to stay out of trouble.”

On today’s trip to relegation-threatened Shrewsbury, Parkinson added: “They got a good draw at Wolves but then lost at Colchester. I saw that game and they did look a bit jaded, almost as if Wolves had taken a lot out of them.

“The key will be to approach the game in a positive manner. That is how all our away wins have come, from Colchester a couple of weeks ago through to Milton Keynes.

“It was the same last season. After that terrible defeat at Exeter, we went to Torquay a few weeks later and won convincingly because we took the game to them. We must go to Shrewsbury on the front foot.”