Bradford City's defensive record is the best in the EFL, a key pillar of their strong start under manager Michael Duff. The Bantams have conceded just five goals in 11 League One matches this season, a statistic that underpins their third-place standing on 21 points.
Goalkeeper Jon McCracken has been central to that resilience, keeping eight clean sheets in his 11 league appearances. He made a couple of important saves in Tuesday's 0-0 draw at Burton Albion, a result that extended the team's unbeaten run to five games. That stalemate at the Pirelli Stadium was Bradford's third successive league clean sheet and means they have let in only one goal in seven matches since the start of September.
Managerial philosophy fuels the turnaround
Duff, who previously took Barnsley to a play-off final, has instilled a culture of relentless work. He revealed that players were back training at Woodhouse Grove just hours after the Burton game, with some working late into the night. "There's a team, a group that's trained, some that were in the team the previous night and they've trained like animals," Duff said. He emphasised that success is not about financial resources but about mentality and togetherness, describing his squad as having an "underdog sort of mentality."
The numbers support his approach. While the team has scored only 10 league goals, their defensive solidity has them sitting just one point behind leaders Stockport County. Their recent form reads DWDWD, with the 4-0 win at Rotherham on October 6th a particular highlight.
Oxford United match presents next challenge
The next test of this resolve comes on Saturday with a trip to face Oxford United. The U's, currently eighth, could leapfrog Bradford with a victory, making it a significant fixture in the early promotion picture. Duff is clear that nothing is handed to his players and they must continue to earn their place. "It's not, 'oh you're top of the league, so you should finish top of the league.' It doesn't work like that either," he stated.
Bradford City will travel south this weekend looking to protect that formidable defensive record and maintain their position in the automatic promotion places. The match at the Kassam Stadium kicks off on Saturday, October 24th.
More detail at thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
