Bradford City: No flagging allowed as front man Connell drops behind (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford City: No flagging allowed as front man Connell drops behind

7:20am Saturday 13th October 2012 in Sport By Simon Parker, Bradford City Reporter

Alan Connell is willing to be City’s diamond geezer – even if it does mean a lot more running.

The Londoner is shining in his withdrawn role playing behind the two strikers.

Phil Parkinson switched the formation halfway through the Dagenham game last week and it has worked well so far.

Connell scored and won a penalty in that second half and then kept the job for the JPT win at Hartlepool. It is a position he has played in the past and he knows there is little time for a breather.

Connell said: “There is a hell of a lot of running. I had one near the end on Tuesday when I had to get back 50 yards to make a tackle, which is not really like me.

“But there are a lot of good points which can help me when we play this system. I can obviously get on the ball and it still allows me to get in the box.

“I’ve done it quite a lot in my career, playing behind the one or two (strikers).

“I played in a 3-4-1-2 under Graham Turner at Hereford for over half a season. I also played in exactly this formation at Brentford for a little while with the diamond midfield.

“It means a few more defensive responsibilities but I still want to get up there as much as possible because I love scoring goals.

“I’ve enjoyed it because I just love playing football. If a slight change in position helps me get in the team then that’s great.”

Parkinson revealed Connell was the first name on his team sheet for Hartlepool and the former Swindon hitman has no intention of relinquishing his starting shirt.

He added: “The second half at Dagenham went quite for myself and Tuesday was a good game for everyone. I thought we played some good stuff and controlled things.

“It was great to get through and I’m really looking forward to York now. I’ll always do the best I can when called upon, wherever the manager puts me.”