A quick look at the First Division table will show Bradford City in grave danger of joining Wimbledon in the Second Division next season, unless they can pull off the kind of great escape they managed on the final day of 1999-2000 when David Wetherall`s header beat Liverpool and ensured Premiership survival. Brian Beard spoke to the club's PFA delegate about the parallels between that situation and the current struggle.
Q:HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE SITUATION BRADFORD ARE CURRENTLY IN?
A:Obviously we are right up against it now. There are six games to go and we have to win every one of them. That would take us to 51 points and whilst there's no guarantee that would be enough, that's what we've got to aim for.
Q:I SAW BRADFORD WHEN YOU BEAT CREWE AND WERE IN A DECENT SPELL BUT YOU`VE DIPPED A LITTLE SINCE THEN?
A:Yes, to be honest we've done alright in the last four games, as far as performances go, but the results haven't gone our way. We should have beaten Wigan at home but got a draw. We went to Sheffield United and were worth a draw but got nothing. We played Burnley here and really we should have battered them but their keeper had a brilliant game and we lost 2-1. Then we could have easily got a result against Preston, last weekend, but were beaten 1-0 so that sums up the season really. When we have deserved to get something out of games, too many times, we haven't done and that's why we are in the situation we are.
Q:DO YOU, PERSONALLY, CAST YOUR MIND BACK TO THE FINAL DAY OF THAT SEASON WHEN YOUR HEADER BEAT LIVERPOOL AND KEPT BRADFORD IN THE PREMIERSHIP?
A:Obviously, our survival in the Premier League and what happened the following summer, is really the reason the club is in the situation it is now because we have never recovered financially from the excesses that followed that survival season. That's really why the club is in the position of costs having to be cut all the time. Administration means that the very survival of the football club is in doubt so obviously everyone thinks back and wonders what would have happened if we hadn't stayed up. If we hadn't beaten Liverpool on that final day and had gone down what state would the club have been in? Would it actually have been a blessing in disguise if we had gone down? That's something we will never know.
Q:HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO LIFT PLAYERS WITH SUCH AN OMINOUS PRESSURE SITUATION HANGING OVER THE CLUB?
A:It is at the minute but the lifting of the players hasn't been a problem, over the past few weeks. As I've said, performances have been fine but the gaffer thought losing to Preston knocked a bit of the stuffing out of us but we have just got to keep battling away. Football is a funny old game, if we manage to pick up five or six wins out of our last six games and other teams go on runs where they don't pick up a single point then anything is possible. That's the sort of thing which is going to have to happen for us to survive in this division.
Q:EASTER IS ALWAYS A CRUCIAL PERIOD AND NOW IT'S PERHAPS THE MOST CRUCIAL IN BRADFORD'S HISTORY?
A:Yes, it could change quickly with two games in three days and we know that six points can make a big difference. If we win two games and someone else loses them, all of a sudden the gap is down to five points, which would give us a bit of a chance. That's what we've got to be looking to achieve over this next weekend. When we survived in the Premiership we were behind with four or five games to go so we can look back and that might just give us a bit of hope.
