STUART McCall is backing City to shake off their teething troubles and show what they are capable of.

The Bantams face Walsall tomorrow with two wins from their opening three outings.

But performances have not convinced and their 31-game unbeaten home league run was ended by Blackburn last week.

McCall said: "We need players running into form to get the jersey. If you're playing well, you'll stay in the team.

"We're a little bitty at the minute and we need some strong performances.

"You've just got to keep believing in what you're doing. Every game is different so if you get the shirt tomorrow, make sure you keep it for the week after.

"There are reasons why we've not been able to flow football-wise. We've tried a couple of formations.

"You need to get the ball on the deck and play. You need to get control of possession before you can control the game.

"For some reasons, we've not been able to do that. We have done in patches but not for as much as we'd like."

Charlie Wyke is set for his opening start of the season at the Bescot Stadium, although McCall is publicly playing down his chances.

The centre-forward's 21-minute appearance from the bench against Blackburn was his first for five weeks. Yet he gave City an attacking edge they had lacked and it would be a major surprise if he is not thrown straight in.

McCall said: "You saw his impact when he came on. We've worked him hard this week and Tuesday was probably the hardest session the lads have had since I've been here.

"Charlie is one we'll look to drip-feed in and get him back up to sharpness.

"We've got options again and it's just about us finding the right balance, be it tactically or formation-wise or just people being good.

"You can talk all you want about philosophies but it's down to players. You need people to play well.

"We've got enough ability but just need to knit it together. It's early on but obviously getting Charlie more into it now will help the team in the long run."

City had two tight duels with Walsall last season and McCall does not expect anything different against Jon Whitney's side tomorrow.

"They've still got the nucleus of the same up front but have changed their defensive rear guard," said the Bantams boss.

"We know they'll be fit and organised. They played well at Pompey last week and were probably unfortunate not to win that."

McCall admits he is still working to establish City's best line-up but that will take time.

"You bring players into the club but it's only when you've worked with them for a while that you'll know what partnerships work or their best position," he said.

"Last season, once we saw (Nicky) Law and (James) Meredith together it worked. Mezza carried the ball 60 yards winning corners and Law helped coming off the line and dominating midfield with three against two.

"Macca (Tony McMahon) and Marsh (Mark Marshall) struggled for a while because Tony only wants to get forward and sometimes you had to leave Marsh one-on-one. But that worked out well.

"It's the same with strikers, you don't always click straight away and it's finding a balance.

"We don't always get it right but we've got to be street-wise enough to change it if it's not working. We've had sixes and sevens out of tens but we need to up it."