A job on the wing in League Two is no place for the faint-hearted.

Full backs tend to be more of the no-questions asked variety when dealing with opposing widemen at this level.

Try anything too clever and you can guarantee a short, sharp - and probably painful - response next time. Fancy-dans need not apply.

So you would think that Joe Colbeck would be a trifle cautious as he sizes up the challenge of helping spur City to immediate promotion from the basement division.

But instead the young flyer has a bullish answer to any defenders who want to try it on with a bit of the hard stuff.

"They can try all they like," he said, "but we're not bothered about going round kicking people.

"Obviously we're going to expect teams to come to a big club like Bradford City with 12,000 people there and try to bully us. But we're not going to let them do that.

"Whatever the other team want to do, we're going to go out and play as much football as we can. Our only aim is getting out of this division as quickly as we can by winning promotion.

"Some of the lads have played in this division before but it's new for a lot of us. But I don't think it will be a big drop from League One and we'll be ready for it."

Stuart McCall is pressing to bring in a few more faces to his squad and a winger remains high on the shopping list. But that does not deter Colbeck's determination to cement himself in the gaffer's plans.

Last season, his first full year in the senior squad, was a trying one for the 20-year-old. As City struggled, the youngster's own form also dipped away and culminated with that red card against Oldham on Easter Monday.

The criticism that followed was hard to bear but watching him perform in pre-season, the swagger has returned to his game. Not to mention a smile.

He added: "The buzz around the whole club now is fantastic. The Macclesfield game can't come quick enough for all of us.

"You can see how excited people are getting when there are 400 or 500 away fans coming to the friendlies. Having that support behind us gives everybody a lift and it's going to get even better in the season.

"There is a lot of expectation this year but that's a brilliant feeling. We know that with the fans behind us we should do well.

"That support really helps the team and builds the confidence up knowing that Bradford City are a big club and we want to get back up the leagues again.

"Pre-season matches are all about building up fitness. You try to cram in as much as you can, getting up and down the pitch as much as possible and putting in 90 minutes work even though you're only playing for one half or an hour.

"But you don't want to jump into challenges fully-committed because of the risk of getting injured. Once you get to the Macclesfield game then you will see everyone at 100 per cent.

"I feel really fit myself at the moment and my confidence is booming. I just want to get the shirt for the beginning of the season and keep it."

Peter Thorne's niggly injury has added a sober note to the anticipation bubbling up around the city and Colbeck cannot wait for the former Norwich striker to return to the fold and link up with Barry Conlon. The prospect of crossing for two six-foot targets is any winger's dream.

"It's great because when you're under pressure you know you can just hit the ball in to the strikers and they're going to hold it up. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing the ball keep bouncing back.

"If you've got two little guys up there who like to play in behind it can be a bit more difficult. But now I've got the targets to aim at and know that there's a big lad hopefully getting on the end of the cross."

Colbeck is also looking to chip in with a couple of goals himself to add to the one he "nicked" from Steve Schumacher on the Bristol City goalline.

"I'm still claiming that one but it would be nice to get one or two properly," he added. "The gaffer's already spoken to me about it and I know that as a winger I should be scoring every now and then.

"But the only thing that matters this season is to get promotion. That's in everyone's mind.

"When the gaffer came in, the first thing he told us was that Bradford are a big club who do not belong in this division. We want to get back up again and don't mind the pressure from trying to achieve that."