MICHAEL Collins is adamant City will not be under-cooked when they kick off League One at Shrewsbury.

Collins opted not to use his senior players in the latest warm-up outing at National League Harrogate – and saw a youthful side get thrashed 7-2.

There is a private game scheduled at the training ground tomorrow, when he will field the strongest team, before the final friendly at Carlisle next weekend.

And the head coach denies his troops will not be up to speed for the campaign’s curtain-raiser a week on Saturday because of a lack of pre-season playing minutes.

Collins said: “That’s a little bit of a myth in football. It’s not the case at all.

“You see so many teams that are chomping at the bit come first game of the season. They go off like a rocket and after three months they blow up.

“But we view it slightly differently.

“We will be 100 per cent ready from August 4 and the lads will be conditioned certainly good enough to get out of it exactly what they need. But we’ve also got the bigger picture involved.

“It’s no good us going off like a racehorse and then breaking down around November or December.

“The whole season has been mapped out, so I’d like to back our judgement on it. Ultimately that’s what it will come down to.

“If we’re off the pace on August 4 then questions will be asked. But in my opinion, I’m very happy with where we’re at and I see no issues whatsoever.”

Collins defended his call to field an under-23s line-up at Wetherby Road. Danny Devine, who captained the side, was their most experienced player with 28 senior outings.

“My job as the head coach is to do what is right in the best interests of Bradford City,” added Collins.

“In my mind, I’ve got August 4 at the forefront of that and I make decisions based around making sure we’re as strong as we possibly can be going into that fixture.

“We were under no illusions. We knew it would be a difficult challenge for the young lads but it was good to see where they are at, what they need to improve on and where they are in regards to their understanding of football.

“We got all the answers we’re looking for.

“There are two more games after this before the first game of the season. I’ve no issues with regards to minutes or how I feel the group is coming along.”