STUART McCall feels City’s successful campaign is as much down to the players out of the side as those in it.

As the Bantams prepare for another crack at the play-offs, McCall praised the attitude of the fringe members of his squad.

Experienced duo Filipe Morais and Nathan Clarke both moved on mid-season to find regular football elsewhere.

Yet McCall believes their professionalism behind the scenes when not in the team played a crucial role in the consistency City have shown.

“We’ve got good quality right through the side but ultimately it’s been a togetherness, which is so important,” said McCall.

“That’s as much to do with people like Nathan, in the early part of the season, Stephen Darby, Rory McArdle and Fil who weren’t in the side.

“They still trained properly and kept the standards up. That can get overlooked but it’s so important.

“You only need a couple of people to spoil the whole harmony in the squad because they’re not playing.

“Throughout my career, there have been certain periods when you get the odd one who is disruptive.

“Get a couple of them in the dressing room and that can quickly unhinge everything.

“But that’s one thing we’ve not had and that’s down to the quality of professional within the club.

“That includes the lads who have left, be it Fil or Nathan or even Hans (James Hanson) when he was injured.

“Since I’ve been here, and I’m sure it was the same prior to me under Phil (Parkinson), we’ve always had a good dressing room. That’s testament to the quality of the senior professionals.”