Bradford City defender Aden Baldwin is targeting more goals after his fast start to the season, which included a match-winning volley at Sheffield Wednesday. The centre-back spoke to the Telegraph & Argus this week about his new contract and the team's promising early momentum.
Baldwin has already matched his goal tally from the entire previous campaign, netting in the wins over Blackpool and Wycombe last season. His decisive strike at Hillsborough on Thursday made it two goals in the first week of the new term. He believes defenders contributing goals can be a major asset for the Bantams.
"I always put it on myself to try and score more goals," Baldwin said. "I feel like I've got it in me to score goals, not only from set pieces, but elsewhere as well."
The 29-year-old's volley against Wednesday continued a trend of Bradford City scoring from corners in all three of their competitive games so far. Baldwin credits improved organisation and aggression in set-piece situations for the success. He also highlighted the recent goal from fellow defender Macaulay Gillesphey as evidence of a growing threat from the back line.
"If we can have goals to add to the attackers, it's going to leave us in a good place," he added. According to the club's stats page, Baldwin's two goals already make him one of the team's top scorers in the early stages of the campaign.
Baldwin's form has been rewarded with a new two-year contract, secured this summer. Manager Graham Alexander has backed the defender to keep improving. Baldwin said the deal made him feel valued and has given him a platform to show his best form after missing chunks of games earlier in his career.
"I probably missed a lot of games when I was 20-21 for whatever reasons and I feel like I'm now showing what more I've got," he explained. The defender is a key part of a squad that currently sits in the upper half of the League One standings.
The televised victory over a fancied Sheffield Wednesday side has sent a message to the rest of League One, according to Baldwin. He admitted the team showed the hosts too much respect in a subdued first-half performance but was pleased with the strong reaction after the break.
"The whole league was watching us to see what we're about," Baldwin stated. "It was really good to see from my perspective because it's probably shown how far we've come as a group, especially so early in the season."
He stressed the need for the squad to stay grounded, with the focus remaining on building momentum. The team's next challenge is a home fixture, details of which can be found on the club's fixtures schedule. Baldwin's contract runs until the summer of 2028.
