Wayne Jacobs prepares to face City tomorrow with his new club Halifax but insists: "This game is not just about me."

The friendly at The Shay will be a strange experience for Jacobs, who recently brought down the curtain on 11 years of loyal service at Valley Parade.

Now Halifax No 2 under Chris Wilder, Jacobs will have an immediate reunion with his former team-mates as City increase the tempo of their pre-season schedule.

Jacobs, who is expected to play at some stage, admits he cannot wait and said: "It's going to be very nice to see some of the friends I've made.

"Everybody knows how I felt about Bradford and it will always be special to me.

"But it's not just about me, this is a great game for all our players.

"Bradford are being talked about as one of the fancied sides in the league so this is a real challenge.

"I would imagine they will bring a strong side so it will be a good run-out for them and an enjoyable day overall."

Peter Atherton could also

feature for Halifax after playing in a 4-2 friendly win over Brighouse Town on Wednesday.

Atherton, whose time at City was dogged by injuries, is

currently training with the Conference side.

Jacobs said: "We would love to have Peter permanently. In fact, I would fetch his training bag from Wigan myself if he signs.

"He's a great friend of mine and just asked if he could get fit with us and do a bit of pre-season work.

"But I'm sure he will be involved in the Bradford game and it will be a great day for him.

"He served the club with

dignity for five years and always gave 100 per cent on and off the field."

City are ready for a tougher test at The Shay after victories over Park Avenue and North Ferriby.

Boss Colin Todd said: "It will be more demanding, which is what we expect as the pre-

season programme goes further forward.

"Halifax had a decent season last time and were probably disappointed not to make the play-offs.

"But we are making progress every day in training and the one thing I just hope we avoid is picking up stupid injuries.

"At the moment we've been fine. The senior players are looking pretty sharp considering we are only two weeks in.

"Credit to the boys for coming back in good shape."

Defender Darren Holloway is expected to return tomorrow after missing Wednesday as a precaution.