City should dismiss the jibes that they are nothing more than long-ball merchants as a back-handed compliment.

Steve Parkin has laughed off the criticism – which he labelled a “load of rubbish” – as a badge of honour for rattling the League One establishment.

Coventry boss Steven Pressley’s outburst in the wake of last week’s fractious TV encounter has been followed by more pointed comments. But Phil Parkinson’s number two is not bothered.

“I’m not annoyed at all,” said Parkin, ahead of tomorrow’s trip to MK Dons. “I enjoy it because it means we are ruffling a few feathers.

“We’ve come up a division and we’re holding our own. But we know (what’s been said) is a load of rubbish.

“We play to our strengths, whatever they may be. If that means for one game we’ll get it out the back and play, then we’ll do that.

“We’ve had games pressing from the front and others where we’ve dropped the strikers in and sat back on the halfway line because we know it’s not the time to chase the ball.

“We know we get the ball down in midfield and play the ball through Gary Jones and Nathan Doyle. We know we get it out wide to Kyel Reid and Garry Thompson but then we do get things in the box.

“People pay good money to be entertained with what happens in both penalty areas. On the whole, by and large over the last two years our fans have been entertained by a team who like to attack the opposition’s goal.

“Tactically the manager is very astute and sets his team up very well. You don’t beat Aston Villa and Arsenal and other top teams and get to a major cup final if you can’t adjust your game to play different ways.”

City yesterday added young striker Lewis Clarkson to their ranks from non-league Scarborough on a free transfer. But it is their established front two of Nahki Wells and James Hanson who continue to make waves.

Both look in top form ahead of the stadium:mk visit – although Parkin admits Hanson’s contribution can be taken for granted in the wake of his partner’s goals.

The City assistant said: “Sometimes maybe we don’t value Hans as much as we should. He always plays and always puts himself on the line. He’s not aggressive by any means but he’s very difficult to mark and very good in the air.

“Invariably, when you speak to people over a beer in the manager’s office afterwards, his name is the one that always gets mentioned.

“He’s a conscientious lad in terms of what he does for the team. He’ll drop back on to the deepest midfielder without anyone telling him to do it and wins more than his fair share of free-kicks and corners against us in our own box.

“He had a massive impact last weekend and one of the reasons the (Coventry) manager has got the needle is because of Hans. We played to his strengths and he made mincemeat of their centre halves.”

With MK Dons without a game last week, boss Karl Robinson used the opportunity for a Valley Parade spying mission. Play-off nearly men for three of the past five seasons, they currently sit two points behind the Bantams.

Parkin said: “They are a very capable team. They move the ball quickly and confidently and have no qualms in playing out from the back.

“But it’s a game we should relish and hit head on. We’re playing all these teams who have been established in this division and MK Dons are another.

“We’re still in a good place and in terms of our DNA as a club, Sunday did us a world of good to show the character and fight to come back.”