SIMON Grayson admits his time with City has been harder than he anticipated.

With the manager’s future still to be sorted, tonight could potentially be his last game in charge at Valley Parade.

The Bantams face Walsall, who need one point to make sure of League One survival.

Grayson wants a “professional performance” from his side as he reflects on missing out on a play-off shot.

He said: “Of course I’m disappointed with the run of results. I came here to win far more games than we have and ultimately to get into the play-offs.

“But you have to deal with these things and you never earn anything without working hard.

“It’s been a tough season for everybody and we’ve not got to the levels everyone expected.

“When we came in, we tried to pick up a group that had suffered mentally over the previous six games and probably found it harder than we thought.

“There’s a lot of areas we can improve on but that takes a period of time.

“It’s not been easy when people like (Ryan) McGowan, who looked a key player, went out injured and the weather hasn't helped with the cancellation of games but that’s part and parcel of what you've got to deal with.

“But they’ve been an honest bunch to work with and we’ve got to make sure we get six points to finish positively.”

Grayson has made it clear that City will not delay a decision on his future and he plans to sit down again with chairman Edin Rahic over the coming days.

“The club offered me a long-term contract when I first came, I just wanted to stay to the end of the season,” he added. “Nothing has changed since that point.

“I’ve briefly spoken to Edin last week but nothing major in terms of what we’re going to do. That will probably be later this week or early part of next week.

“I’m just focusing on these two games because the football club’s more important than my situation.”

Grayson has already predicted a major overhaul of the squad during the summer, whether he is at the helm or not. He revealed talks on the future of the out-of-contract players were “a long way down the line.”

“Pretty much straight after the season a lot of issues will be resolved.

“Players are realistic. They understand when you’re out of contract that an extra week or two is not going to make much difference to negotiations.

“At this stage of the season, they are resigned to making sure they do enough to earn a contract or maybe having discussions with other clubs to see the best opportunities they can get for next year.

“Things maybe need moving in a slightly different direction. There have been quite a lot of players who’ve been here a period of time and not been able to fulfil the ambition of getting the club into the Championship.

“It’s only natural if a club have not succeeded in what they are trying to do, then you have to improve the squad for the following season.”

Kai Bruenker had a scan on his ankle yesterday and will see a specialist later this week to find out the severity of the ligament damage.

The traditional minute’s silence to remember the 56 victims of the Valley Parade fire will take place before kick-off.

Grayson said: “You cannot get away from the fact how horrible that day was for this football club and all the families connected.

“It would be nice to win the game as a mark of respect for the people who lost their lives and we’ll represent them at the memorial service the following week.”