Stuart McCall happy to see Bradford City sharing the goalscoring load in win over Southend United

The Valley Parade triumph brought an end to a winless streak of four games for the Bantams, the last three of which had all ended in defeat. McCall and his players will now switch their attentions to the FA Cup on Saturday when they travel to National League South outfit, Tonbridge.

The Bantams were indebted to first-half goals from Callum Cooke, Elliot Watt and Harry Pritchard as they eased to victory over Southend, who are now without a win in 11 attempts in the league this season.

With two strikers out injured, the City boss has been looking for scoring responsbility to be taken on from other areas of the pitch, something he got in abundance on Tuesday night with all three goals coming from midfield.

“We have spoken a lot about players chipping in with goals all over the field,” said McCall. “The three goals all came from our midfielders, which was pleasing, because it is not all about the strikers - and we currently have two out injured.

“I am pleased for Callum Cooke who has been desperate for a goal recently, and has come close many times. It has taken a little bit of pressure off him.

“Their back five was potentially going to take a while to break down, but we thankfully managed to do that early on. The second goal was terrific and the third was a great free-kick from Billy Clarke and a good header from Harry Pritchard - which is something we have worked on a lot.”

Having last tasted victory on October 17 with a 3-1 win at Mansfield Town, McCall admitted he was relieved to see his team rediscover winning ways.

“We obviously needed to win, tonight,” added McCall. “It was nice to keep a clean sheet and I thought there were some very good performances, both going forward and at the back.

“We got a little bit sloppy at times in the second half, but it was important to go ahead in the game, which we did for the first time at home this season. We could have still been a little more clinical, particularly after the break, but we are pleased with the result.

“It was a much-needed outcome and people would have expected us to win when you look at Southend’s form. We went out and did a reasonable job.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.