Bradford City 0

Manchester United 3

Ashley Ward is a veteran of the Premiership relegation dogfight so he's probably the right man to assess Bradford City's chances of survival.

Ward failed to avoid the drop with Barnsley and Blackburn - but he's seen enough in recent games to feel the Bantams can buck his depressing trend.

Saturday's valiant loss against champions Manchester United leaves City eight points adrift from safety.

With second-placed Sunderland and then Arsenal their next two matches it looks a grim picture. But striker Ward will have none of it.

He said: "Of course it's a tall order but we know we're playing much better now than in the first half of the season. There's no reason between now and the end of the season for anyone to think we will be a soft touch.

"There's a lot of spirit in the team. The manager has worked hard on us the last few weeks and there's no reason why we can't push it right to the end and give it a good go.

"Our next two matches are against excellent sides, both riding high in the Premiership and packed with undoubted quality. But they will be no better than United and if we get that bit of luck you don't often get at the bottom, then you never know.

"We're due a break after Saturday and the cup game. If we can get that and keep up our performance level then we're going to start picking up points."

For 72 minutes City threw the league table out the window and matched the champions stride for stride, the turbo-charged Ryan Giggs several yards apart, until it all blew up the second Gary Walsh's left foot swished thin air.

Once a disbelieving Teddy Sheringham stroked the ball into the empty net, City's rock-solid belief was fatally punctured.

Ward said: "The way we had gone about the job was really good. We were playing one of the best teams in the world and up to then there wasn't a lot in it.

"We had as many shots as them in the first half and a few times the ball was bobbling round their box and they were struggling to clear. It was working well for us and United looked a bit rattled and were getting frustrated.

"But nobody blames Gary because he's worked really hard in every game and he'd just made a very good save from David Beckham.

"All keepers will make perhaps five of those mistakes in their career but in other times it might happen in a game when you're already losing or you're 3-0 up and it doesn't really matter."

Once City's defences had been breached, the floodgates opened as United poured forward to add further goals through the fantastic Giggs, who weaved through tackles to drill number two at the near post, and precocious substitute Luke Chadwick.

He latched on to Beckham's through ball to slide home his first senior goal three minutes from time and also gave City a lesson for letting heads drop.

Boss Jim Jefferies said: "That's my only criticism. I know the first goal was a sickener but you have to accept it. You can be playing away and get a wicked deflection off a shot that's going nowhere, it just happens. You just have to pick yourselves up, roll up your sleeves and not feel sorry for yourself.

"If you end up losing the game to that type of goal, people will give you more credit than they do if you let in a couple more.

''If you look at Manchester United, they never give anyone anything and that's what we've got to learn.

"Teddy Sheringham showed his experience with the first goal, forcing Gary into a bit of hesitancy and he got his reward. That's what top players and top teams do. They never give up, they never give in and they chase everything.

"When they lose possession they work so hard to get it back. It shows any player never to give up the ghost."

Ward certainly hasn't and believes he speaks for the rest of the dressing room. Jefferies' off-field reshuffle may have caused a few ructions but it hasn't shaken the belief.

Ward added: "It can be unsettling hearing all these different things about people staying, playing and going, especially when you've been injured. But it showed out there against United that we've had two or three good performances on the trot and we could have got more out of them."

Sir Alex Ferguson backed Ward's optimistic words: "Bradford have got a good spirit about them and never stop trying."

Proof that the Bantams aren't going to roll over for the top boys.