After watching Bradford City's new £2.3 million strike force in their first two games, manager Paul Jewell is confident Lee Mills and Isaiah Rankin will prove a real handful to First Division defences.

The City boss smashed the club record transfer fee twice in a matter of days to bring the pair to Valley Parade in the hope they can grab the goals to launch a promotion challenge.

Rankin notched his first goal for City in the 1-0 Worthington Cup victory over Lincoln City in a game where both strikers were impressive.

The pair appear to complement each other well with Rankin's explosive pace and Mills's intelligent use of the ball and heading ability proving a promising mix.

The City boss said: "It was good for Isaiah to get his first goal. I also thought it was Lee's best game so far. Not only did he win everything in the air, but he was also aggressive and very strong.

"They both did very well and when they get more used to each other I believe they will be a real handful."

Jewell will be hoping that the pair can help City notch their first victory of the season when Bolton Wanderers visit Valley Parade on Sunday in front of the Sky Television cameras.

Bolton were one of the pre-season favourites for promotion and Jewell said: "It will be a very tough game. They were a Premier League side last season and very unlucky to be relegated."

Meanwhile, Jewell has revealed how City made an appeal to the Football Association to ensure promising youngster Gareth Grant could play at Lincoln last Tuesday.

Earlier this month the 17-year-old was selected to take part in trials for the England Under 18 squad.

These took place at Lilleshall between Monday and Wednesday but Jewell struck a compromise with the FA to ensure Grant could play for City.

He said: "Gareth went to Lilleshall and trained with them on Monday. I had spoken to Colin Murphy and explained that I wanted Gareth to be involved at Lincoln although I didn't know at that stage that he would play.

"Colin gave me an assurance that Gareth would be at the team hotel on Tuesday. We had to think of ourselves so it ended up being the best of both worlds.

"They have had a good look at him. England will be in touch with him when a decision has been made."

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