BRADFORD CITY AFC

Bantams boss Phil Parkinson has targeted this Saturday's home fixture with Crewe Alexandra as an opportunity for his City side to kick start the final third of their league schedule in positive fashion.

Including the Crewe encounter, Parkinson's men still have eighteen games of the campaign remaining - nine at home and nine away.

With the mid-season transfer window out of the way for another season, Parkinson now knows the players he should have at his disposal for the remaining three months of the season.

Having spoken to his squad members about it this week, Parkinson says he now wants his side to tackle the club's remaining fixtures head on and target a strong finish to the campaign.

Parkinson said: "We had a chat with the lads this week to basically say to them that the transfer window is gone now and the squad we have here will largely be as it is for the rest of the season.

"We feel it is a strong squad with lots of competition in it and we have eighteen games left in the season to prove that, starting with Saturday and Crewe at home.

"We have to tackle every one of these eighteen games in a really positive fashion.

"We may bring in another defender, we may not, but certainly the squad we have in place now is strong enough to really finish this season strongly. We have told the lads what we want from them and we will certainly be looking for that positive final period of the season.

"The lads are looking sharp in training this week and we know what we have to do on Saturday. We know how Crewe are going to play and we are looking forward to the challenge.

"The attitude was spot-on against Preston and Wolves recently, and we will need that again from now until the final whistle at the end of the league season."

Including Matthew Dolan, whose loan transfer will be confirmed on Saturday, City have brought in as many as five new players in the last three weeks.

With Andrew Davies also back in the mix following four months out through injury, there is definitely a new feel to Parkinson's squad.

Parkinson added: "The lads coming in have some football already under their belts from this season, which is important. It allows them to get up to speed much earlier.

"All the lads are ready to be involved, and it is good to have that freshness in the building.

"Some changes we made have been enforced, other players have moved on because it was right for them to go onto pastures new. There is still a good solid base of the existing lads who have brought the club forward, but now added with a group of new faces to give us that fresh impetus."

Although Nathan Doyle is suspended for Saturday's Crewe clash, Kyle Bennett is back and available for selection after serving his own one-match ban last weekend.

Parkinson said: "It has been a bit of a strange start for Kyle with the sending off against Preston but he has trained great this week and he is chomping at the bit to be involved."