Mark Hughes demands Bradford City 'big reaction' against Doncaster Rovers with judgement day on hold

Friday saw Hughes reach a year in charge of City – ridiculously the first person to achieve that since Stuart McCall in 2017.

But whether the Bantams can achieve their target for 2022-23 is still in the balance, and a trip to Doncaster Rovers is unlikely to make things any easier.

Such a high-profile appointment as Hughes was supposed to result in automatic promotion.

The gap to Carlisle United is only seven points with two games in hand but more importantly there are four sides between them, and few signs of the consistency Bradford need.

So promotion via the play-offs might have to do but even then City are a point and a place outside, albeit again with games in hand.

If Bradford are still in League Two next season, Hughes will be deemed a failure. It is why he needs a “big reaction” to last week’s defeat at Barrow.

“I would suggest with what I’ve done up to this point, I will be judged on whether we go up or get to the play-offs possibly,” he reflected.

“I think what we are trying to do is acknowledged as good work. If we get the club where we want to go it will be viewed as great work.

“I don’t think I’ve done a bad job here up to now. I clearly want to make sure we fulfil the remit and push to get out the league.

“I’m not about legacies, my reputation doesn’t bother me at all.

"Until we get out this league, it becomes a little bit attritional and you just have to take the blows sometimes.

“I feel if we can keep progressing, the higher we go the better it will become.”

But with Rovers able to leapfrog their Yorkshire rivals with victory, Hughes wants to see a big improvement on Barrow – particularly high up the field.

“We needed to be more dynamic at the top end of the pitch,” he commented. “We have talked about it this week, how to be more creative.

“We were too safe, so we need to take a few risks.

"We still restricted Barrow in key areas. If we improve at the top end of the pitch, then we are heading in the right direction. I am expecting a big reaction."

Abo Eisa is out with a hamstring pull and the game comes too soon for Matt Derbyshire and Thierry Nevers but Tolaji Bola and Romoney Crichlow are fit.