The word consistency - or rather, the lack of - springs up every time City's season is discussed.

The midweek defeat at Rochdale was familiar territory.

City were beaten by a late goal again. They followed up back-to-back wins with another defeat again.

Six times now they have been sunk by a goal in the last five minutes; six times they have notched successive victories only to lose at the third attempt. Maybe the campaign is a bit more consistent than we think.

But ask Stuart McCall where it all went wrong and he will highlight the eight-match run between mid-September and early November when City plummeted from one end of the division to the other.

Seventh after pipping promotion favourites Peterborough on September 15, eight games and only two points later saw the Bantams third from bottom on November 3 after losing at home to Brentford.

They say the table never lies and City could not argue. Equally, a glance at the form since shows that there has been an improvement.

There have been some awful days against the likes of Bury, Mansfield and Dagenham but McCall's men are clearly turning the corner. If the season had begun in November, they would currently be only three points off the play-offs instead of 11.

"If only" is the stock phrase of any supporter when their team's campaign has not panned out as hoped. But as the anticipation builds for a busy summer with an influx of new players, the evidence suggests that McCall is now au fait with what's required to succeed in League Two and is starting to get it right.

  • Pre-match DJs quite rightly get a slating for their choice of naff tunes in the build-up to kick-off.

But fair play to the man on the decks at Rochdale for a top selection on Tuesday. Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Jam, Stereophonics - throw in a bit of Bad Manners and Specials and he could have nicked my collection.