SIMON Grayson admits he is working round the clock to try to arrest City’s slump.

The Bantams boss is hoping to claim his first win at the fifth attempt when his side face Gillingham at Valley Parade this afternoon.

City head into the final ten games of the season seven points off the last play-off spot but Grayson remains hopeful they can produce a late burst.

With just one point from his four games in charge, the new manager “bounce” has not happened since Stuart McCall was sacked.

Grayson, though, intends to keep putting in the hours to find a solution to a season that has collapsed since the turn of the year.

He said: “Any job is made more difficult when players’ confidence and run of form has not been very good.

“But you have to believe you can still get the best out of them. I’m disappointed that I’ve not got the results and my record at this level of football is not working so far.

“I’m in at 7.30 every morning and leaving late at night because I’m giving my all to make sure we’re successful. It hasn’t worked so far but we’re very positive it will do in the longer term.”

City have the worst form in League One with only two points from a possible 30 since their last win at Fleetwood on New Year’s Day.

They face the Gills on the back of three straight defeats, the latest in front of the TV cameras against Doncaster when the Bantams faded after a promising first half.

Grayson added: “There were more positive signs on Monday night compared with previous games. We created more opportunities.

“But we didn’t take that first goal that would have been huge and second half, we didn’t reach those levels.

“We were far too open, we didn’t work hard enough to stop the opposition and we made it too easy for them at both ends of the pitch.

“Players have to be strong, not just physically but mentally as well.

“When things have not started in the same way as the previous half, you’ve got to dig deep and stand up and be counted.

“As much as we work with the players, it’s their responsibility to do that and produce performances.”

Grayson’s stand-out record of third-tier management – with promotions at four different clubs – made him a popular choice to replace McCall and revive City’s flagging fortunes.

But he has encountered the same frustration that marked the end of his predecessor’s reign.

“I’m not happy that I’ve not won in four games,” he said. “I want to do something to rectify that.

“I’ve come here with the intentions of finishing in the play-offs. We can still achieve that although we’re making hard work of it.

“We all have to work harder to make sure we get to where we want. If we fall short, it can’t be through the lack of trying on everybody’s part.

“We’ve seen teams go on big runs when they’ve got a result and carried it on. We know if we can get going again, it can snowball into something bigger.

“The pressure has probably been there all season. When you lose a play-off final, people expect you to maybe go one stage better.

“But it’s not that easy. You’ve got a different type of division, different budgets, different type of opposition.

“But given how the season started so well, people do think it could be Bradford City’s year.

“It’s not happened since the turn of the year but that’s history. You have to move forward.

“It’s all right talking about it, we all have to go out there and make it happen.”