Fans urged to crank up the volume as Bradford City bid to complete promotion job

Millwall's Byron Webster, second left, and Bradford City's Billy Clarke, centre, battle for the ball (Picture: Steven Paston/PA Wire).

AS the Bradford City team bus edged through the Bermondsey streets en route to The Den ahead of last May’s decisive play-off semi-final second leg, the players knew what to expect.

English football’s most intimidating arena was sold out and the locals, buoyed by Millwall having triumphed 3-1 at Valley Parade a few days earlier, were certain to crank up the noise levels and turn the old place into a bearpit.

Sure enough, the Bantams were made to feel distinctly unwelcome and there was to be no comeback as the Yorkshire club’s promotion dreams were ended in south London.

A year on and City are back in the play-offs along with Millwall.

Fleetwood Town, however, stand between Stuart McCall’s men and a trip to Wembley this time. The first leg is at Valley Parade on Thursday night and Billy Clarke, one of six survivors from last season’s semi-final exit, wants the home fans to crank up the volume in a similar fashion to what Bradford faced at The Den.

“Going to Fleetwood (for Sunday’s second leg) will be nowhere near the same as playing at the Den on a Friday night,” said the 29-year-old, who sported a plastic mask during that second leg against Millwall to protect a cheekbone injury.

“That was incredible. I had the mask on and should have put something else under it!

“We have got to bring our own atmosphere on Thursday and I am sure it will be incredible. We need to bring the numbers and put Fleetwood in the situation that we were in down at The Den.”

City’s fifth tilt at the play-offs will see the club take a well trodden route.

In those previous four appearances, the Bantams have been at home first and their record is poor.

Only once – in 1988 when Middlesbrough were the visitors – have Bradford prevailed in that first tie with their subsequent ties at Valley Parade against Blackpool (1996), Burton Albion (2013) and Millwall last year all having ended in defeat.

A rescue job was performed against the Seasiders and the Brewers to reach Wembley but not the Lions. Clarke is adamant that lessons have to be learned from a year ago.

“I felt the first game (against Millwall) was so out of character,” said the striker. “We didn’t do ourselves justice. I don’t think we conceded three at home all season apart from that game.

“There was nothing to take from that day, other than ‘we don’t let it happen again’. You need to learn from every experience. It was obviously a bad one last year but this will be totally different.

“We are playing a completely different team with a different style – and we’re completely different as well.”

As for Fleetwood having home advantage in the second leg, Clarke added: “There are no away goals or anything like that, so there is not really an advantage.

“It is just going to be two exciting games between two teams wanting to get where we ultimately want to be.”

Bradford ended the regular season with the only unbeaten home record in the Football League. Fleetwood were one of the 11 teams to leave Valley Parade empty-handed this term, revenge being exacted with a 2-1 defeat for Bradford in the return at Highbury.

“We want to go out there on Thursday and do what we have been doing for the last 23 games,” added Clarke. “We can take a lot of confidence into it. We’ve been playing well for the last couple of months.”