City must be up for a cup tie when they visit the division’s worst hosts tomorrow.

Second-from-bottom Hereford have lost five of their six home games – including a 6-1 thrashing by Gillingham and 4-0 to Macclesfield – and scored just two goals in the process.

But Phil Parkinson will warn his team to write off The Bulls at their peril.

Hereford stormed back to claim an unlikely 3-3 draw at Swindon last week in their first game since former Shrewsbury boss Gary Peters was appointed director of football.

And Parkinson is wary of the impact that Peters is hoping to make on his dug-out debut at Edgar Street – a ground where the Bantams last won in 1981.

The City chief said: “We go into this game on the back of a good week but also with an understanding that Hereford are building this game up.

“A new man has come in down there, Gary Peters, and he is trying to galvanise things. We’re aware of that.

“We’ve got to make sure we expect that kind of cup-tie atmosphere and we’re ready for it.”

City’s tails are up after Craig Fagan clinched Parkinson’s first win in charge last week. The ten men also hung on for a first clean sheet of the season after Andrew Davies was sent off.

Tomorrow offers a good chance to build on that but Parkinson will make sure that attitudes are right.

He added: “Steve Parkin and I want to pick a team which we feel will go and get a result down there.

“We’ve been looking closely this week at the reserve game and the standard of training.

“We don’t want players who think they’ve just got to turn up and the result will be right. That’s not the case. We went to see the reserves at Gateshead on Monday and people put in a really good performance there. And we’ve changed the team around a few times in training to look at different scenarios.

“It’s got to be a strong 11 of players who will roll their sleeves up.”

Adam Reed came back to training yesterday and James Hanson is also recovering from his calf injury.

Hereford is likely to come too soon for the targetman and Parkinson admits the enforced break has given him a breather.

He said: “Of course a manager would like all players available at all times but in my short time here, sometimes I’ve felt James carries the burden of that frontline on his shoulders and that’s a big responsibility.

“One of his best games was at Burton with Craig up there with him. He had another player up there sharing the workload in terms of holding the ball and helping the team get up the pitch.

“Hans is getting close. He’s been out running the last few days and he’s not a million miles away.

“Hopefully he comes back refreshed and he’s certainly been working hard while he’s been injured.”

Guy Branston is expected to replace Davies but it would be a surprise to see Parkinson make too many other tweaks after City’s short-handed heroics against Torquay. He has noticed a rise in confidence within the squad.

“We know if we work hard and we’re disciplined and committed that we’ve got quality to win games of football.

“I genuinely believe we have some very good players but you need those qualities that we’ve spoken about – and will keep speaking about.

“If we get good players to work hard and be organised then you’ve got always chance. But we go to a club in a similar scenario. It’s important that we understand that.

“We’re not playing someone where the fans are going to be on their backs quickly. They are going to be right behind them after Hereford’s result at Swindon, certainly for the first 20 minutes, and we’ve got to make sure we come through that period.

“We know what we’re facing and we’re strong enough to deal with it.”

Joe Colbeck will miss out on facing his former club. The winger is out until Christmas with a serious knee injury.