Gillingham v Bradford City: Straight-talking Graham Alexander on avoiding mixed messages and being a 'fraud'

He replied, simply and earnestly: ‘Well, that’s easy – I just tell them the truth.’

Which brings us to Graham Alexander.

Granted, the Bradford City manager is hardly in the same managerial stratosphere as the man whom fans of the Merseyside giants referred to as ‘Mr Liverpool.’

But his straight-forward honesty and clear messages both to the media and – more importantly – his players have earned him respect in his short time in charge of the club so far.

Recent results have been decent too, although it’s only a start.

Alexander said: “If I was saying one thing publicly and a different thing in the changing room or at the training ground, the comments wouldn’t mean anything to the players – they would think I was a fraud.

"How I talk to the press is how I talk to the players, it’s how I talk in the changing room.

"I want my team to be positive. We want to play in a positive way, go to every opponent and show, ‘we’re here to win’.

"You have to think like that all the time. It’s not an act. It’s how I genuinely am."

A players’ player in his playing days – his longevity by way of playing over 1,000 games is firm testament to that – Alexander appears to now be very much a players’ manager in his second career in the dug-out.

In terms of his messages, they also harken back to his experiences in a long and successful stint as a player and being on the other side. Again, it's common sense.

He continued: "I wanted my manager to think that I was a good player and that we were a good team, not be over-fussed about what the opponent can do and worry too much.

"I try to manage my team how I wanted to be managed. It might be the wrong way, but it feels right to me.

"I believe in these players and I want them to believe in each other that they can succeed."