Matty Platt on the improvement with Bradford City set-pieces

Gillingham were upping the tempo to start the second half as the visitors gave them ample opportunity to load the penalty area.

A string of set-piece opportunities deep in their own territory meant the Bantams had to be on their defensive mettle.

Connor Mahoney’s delivery for the Gills was decent – the response from those in black rock solid.

Here was proof that the drills on the training ground were paying off.

Matty Platt, whose yellow card for a touchline wrestle on Mahoney had kicked off the series of home free-kicks, has noticed the improvement since the change of management.

Graham Alexander and, especially, number two Chris Lucketti are hot on set-piece preparation and the big defender can see the benefits.

“It wasn’t to say we didn’t practise them before and they’ve come in and completely changed it,” said Platt.

“I’d maybe say it’s a little bit more thorough and we go through it in a little bit more detail and maybe cover all the set-pieces that we come across in the game.

“Chris had a great career and does a lot of defensive work with us and little bits of details, which is invaluable. The drills have been great.

“We did struggle a bit on set-pieces last year. We didn’t score too many and we probably conceded a few too many.

“I couldn’t tell you the stats off the top of my head but we needed to improve at both ends.”

Going forward, it became a bit of a standing joke last season that City’s set-pieces would come to nothing. It took until mid-April at Rochdale for Sam Stubbs to get the central defenders off the mark.

But they have stepped up this time with Platt scoring twice on consecutive Tuesday nights against Barnsley and Forest Green.

Matty Platt celebrates scoring his first City goal against Barnsley (Image: Thomas Gadd)

He added: “When you have scored a couple, you are going up for set-pieces with maybe a little bit more belief.

“It’s just that little bit more confidence. We are a bit more convinced that one of us is going to get our head on it and put it in the back of the net.

“We’ve also improved on the defending side and the set-up has changed a little bit.”

Footballers quickly grow hardened to swapping managers almost as often as they change their boots.

But incomings mid-season can be tricky as they juggle working with a different voice and approach and the relentless fixture list.

Platt, though, believes City have adapted to Alexander pretty quickly – and the results and performances are currently bearing that out.

“It took maybe a week of training,” he said. “We’re all professional footballers and a lot of us have experienced different styles of management.

“We can all relate in certain ways from past experiences.

“It might take a week or two max but we then get a good idea of what he wants. It’s then trying to take it into games.

“You can train as much as you want, but it only gets tested when you go out there on a Saturday.

“We’ve now adapted to the way the gaffer wants to play, that’s shown from the results we’ve had.”

City have let in only one since conceding four at Notts County (Image: Thomas Gadd)

The transformation in City’s fortunes since the second half at Notts County has been remarkable.

From being hammered 4-0 in the first 45 minutes, they have scored 17 goals with only one conceded since and rattled up five straight wins.

Platt admits the change of formation at the Meadow Lane midway point has become a seminal moment.

“Obviously, we were struggling at half-time. I am a big believer in that you can only affect things in front of you and you can’t change what has gone on.

“At half-time, the aim was just to win the second half. As it turned out, we probably could have drawn the game if we’d taken a couple more chances.

“Moving on, it gave us a bit of belief that we are a good team and we’ve gone on a great run of form since. You’d say that was probably the point where we have kicked on from.”