Bradford City v Swindon Town: Calming influence of Mark Hughes welcomed by Bantams players

Hendrie, the son of former Bradford, Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Barnsley forward John, says he and his team-mates are all desperate to make an impression on the new manager, a brilliant striker in his day and a manager who had only previously worked at international and Premier League level.

But rather than fire his new charges up, the man known as “Sparky” is trying to cool them down.

“All of us want to impress him, and sometimes you try too hard and he just tells you to calm down, add that little bit of composure. I think that is the best compliment I can give him – he is very composed,” said 27-year-old defender Hendrie, who came through Manchester United’s academy.

“You can see the level he has managed at, the level he has played at. He commands that respect immediately.

“The composure he brings to training is a good quality and hopefully it rubs off on us.”

Part of that is telling the Bantams, who have lost their last four matches, not to fret about opponents such as today’s visitors Swindon Town.

“We should be focusing on our own game, on ourselves,” said Hendrie, who rejoined the club from Hartlepool United in January. “Everything we have done this week has been about working on us.

“Training has been all about building up to Saturday and how the gaffer wants us to play.

“All it takes is a scrappy win, or maybe a clean sheet to take into the next game, and we have some momentum.”