Ross Hannah is happy to break the habit of a lifetime tonight – and will Sheffield Wednesday to lose.

Hannah is hoping to get the nod for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy opener after being left out of City’s 4-2 win over Barnet.

And the former non-league hot-shot has an added incentive to appear in the televised tie.

Sheffield-born Hannah grew up as a massive Wednesday fan and his family are all keen supporters of the blue side of the Steel City.

But for one night only, his relatives are prepared to switch allegiance at Valley Parade.

Hannah said: “They will be Bradford fans for the night. We’ve got Wednesday in the blood as a family but they’ll be supporting us definitely.

“I’ve got quite a few of the family coming to the game and the rest will be watching on the box.

“It’s a big game for me to play against the team I support and I can’t wait.

“Like every kid, it was my dream when I used to watch Wednesday that one day I’d be out there. It would be great to face them and hopefully win and score.”

Hannah was taken regularly to Hillsborough during the club’s purple patch in the late 1990s and fondly recalls some of his heroes.

“My dad is a Wednesdayite and both my grandads so I was brought up supporting them. I used to love going to games.

“They had a really good side when I used to go and watch them, with people like Chris Waddle, David Hirst, John Sheridan and (City’s new goalkeeping coach) Kevin Pressman, who’s joined us now.

“After that you had Di Canio and Carbone so Wednesday were a decent Premiership side. And they always played good football – I don’t know what’s happened since.

“They’ve fallen on hard times but a lot of clubs have. It’s just unfortunate when it happens to the club you follow.

“Every season you expect Wednesday to come back. But hopefully the takeover will be a good thing because (Milan) Mandaric doesn’t mess around.

“He gets things done and I think they’ve got a manager there who has proved what he can do. I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t have a good season and start turning it round.”

Like City in League Two, Wednesday are too big for their surroundings. But as the Bantams have found, a big reputation does not equate to automatic success.

Hannah added: “That doesn’t get you out the division by saying that. It just puts pressure on the players because everyone wants to beat you.

“It’s like Bradford, they never lose the fanbase. I know they could get a few more if they went up a division but you can guarantee every week that Wednesday’s attendance will be top in that league.

“Even with (Sheffield) United there now, that won’t change. It’s exactly like here where everyone’s desperate for the good times to come back.

“You lose that disappointment from the season before and get that hunger back thinking that this might be the year. That’s why the fans keep turning up in numbers.”

The JPT is often seen as an unwanted distraction on the fixture list. Apart from a foray into the northern area semi-finals in Stuart McCall’s final season, City don’t usually hang around too long and were dumped by Hartlepool in their first game last year.

But Hannah insists it is a goal worth fighting for.

“The Johnstone’s Paint is a winnable competition,” he said. “You get a chance to go to Wembley and not many will have that.

“I know Carlisle won it last year and it must have been great for them. Just imagine what it would be like.

“Maybe teams like Wednesday might overlook it a bit but for us it’s a real opportunity.

“We want that winning mentality here. We won on Saturday and now we want to go out and win again.

“We couldn’t have asked for better cup draws with Leeds and now Wednesday and both being on Sky. We played really well on TV last time and hopefully we can do that again and get through.”