Stuart McCall has called for his players to go “flat out for victory” in City's season opener against Bolton Wanderers tomorrow afternoon (3.00pm).
The Bantams face the recently-relegated Trotters in the opening round of the Carabao Cup at the University of Bolton Stadium, to kick off their 2020/21 campaign.
McCall expressed his delight at the work ethic of his players throughout their pre-season preparations and is looking to get off to the perfect start.
“Since being back, the attitude and application from the players has been first class,” said McCall.
“We are aiming to create a real sense of unity within the group which every good team needs and are definitely all pushing in the same direction.
“There has been some great work on the training pitch since day one. We are very comfortable in the way we play and are always learning.
“We are going flat out for a victory. The game is against one of our rivals who have just come down into the same division as us.
“We will go there and treat it as though it is our first league game, because we are desperate to win.”
McCall is looking forward to the indifferent challenge of taking on City’s Lancashire hosts behind closed doors, and has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
In addition to praising the work of the Bantams’ backroom team in conditioning the players ahead of the season’s start, the former Scotland international hopes his side can rise to the challenge of playing in front of no supporters, tomorrow.
He added: “Playing behind closed doors will be a big learning curve for everybody involved.
“It is going to be difficult but the first steps are there and we are well on the way to getting back to normal.
“As a club, we are looking to get 7,000 fans into games when they are allowed back in, to hopefully make the best of a difficult situation for the supporters.
“Everyone is fit and available for selection ahead of tomorrow, which is all a manager wants.
“Ben Rome and Chris Royston have done a great job with the players throughout pre-season and we are looking forward to playing a competitive game, now.”
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