PHIL Parkinson has played down any suggestion of a rift with the City board over the need to beef up the squad.

Parkinson will intensify his plans to increase options in the dressing room with the big kick-off against Coventry only five days away.

And he insists that he can work together with the Valley Parade hierarchy to get the extra bodies in place.

Parkinson said: “Obviously my job is to get the best team on the pitch for the supporters and to help out the existing players. I’m fighting their corner to do that.

“The board are passionate Bradford City supporters, every single one of them, and they want that as well.

“But equally I do understand it’s got to be done with certain constraints.

“We’re a club with no debt – one of the few in the country like that – and the board would like to keep it that way.

“We’ve got to be creative. But the board also know that 14 senior players is not enough, simple as that.

“If we go with what we’ve got now, we will struggle. But there’s an understanding that everybody knows that.

“We’re trying to bring the players in with the best possible deals we can to improve what we’ve got.”

Parkinson is confident that a second goalkeeper will be in place this week.

“That is one decision we can’t leave and we are working on a few situations with that. We’re trying to do it to buy us a bit of time.”

He will also make a final call on the current trialists at the club. Centre half Christopher Routis and winger Mo Shariff both impressed again as substitutes in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Hartlepool.

The City chief added: “I picked the best team to start but those lads who came on have given us food for thought. But that’s what pre-season is all about.

“We’ve got a couple more coming in today and one in particular who I think could be a good fit for what we need.

“It’s very easy to sign four or five players but they need to be good enough to play in the first team.

“If you go back two years ago when we had a small squad, our mantra was that we had to be confident that everybody we signed could start in the team.

“We are trying to do that again but to get those players isn’t easy, especially when we have got limited resources.”

Parkinson has ruled out any departures to create room in the budget, which is on its limit. There has been speculation linking James Hanson, arguably City’s most saleable asset, with Millwall.

But Parkinson said: “At the moment I don’t think we can afford to move anybody out. We need to add to what we’ve got.

“It’s a nine-month season and I’ve got to get this squad right in the next two or three weeks if I can.

“It’s a bit of a battle we’ve got but it’s one we’re all trying to achieve. We will get there.”

Raffaele De Vita’s chances of earning another deal look to have gone after he returned to Italy for treatment on his recurring thigh injury.

Parkinson said: “Raffa’s paid for himself to have two weeks of intensive treatment back in Rome. I’ll need to have a chat with him.”