Doyle predicts goal rush from hot-shots Bradford City (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Nathan Doyle predicts goal rush from hot-shots Bradford City

7:10am Wednesday 17th October 2012 in Sport By Simon Parker, Bradford City Reporter

NUMERICAL ADVANTAGE: City’s 77 shots on target puts them second in the table of chances created, with Nathan Doyle backing them to improve their poor conversion ratio

Nathan Doyle figures someone is in line for a pasting after brushing off talk of a City wobble.

The Bantams have gone four league games without a win, picking up only two points from the last possible 12. But, after consulting the stats, midfielder Doyle sees absolutely no reason for concern.

With the amount of chances City have been churning out, he is confident the results will follow and forecasts a big scoreline on the cards.

City have had 77 shots on target in the first 12 games, the second highest tally in the entire Football League. Only Northampton, their opponents next Tuesday, can top that with five more.

The goals may have dried up compared with the start of the season but the chances are still flowing freely. And Doyle is convinced that some unsuspecting opponent is going to get both barrels pretty soon.

He said: “We need to put more of our chances away. You look at the stats and we’ve had plenty.

“It just seems that none of them are going in at the moment. On another day that will change.

“When that day comes, I feel sorry for the other team. And I really believe that day is coming.

“Every day in training I see the quality we’ve got with the players and the coaching staff. The gaffer and Steve Parkin work tremendously hard behind the scenes to get the team right.”

Third-placed Cheltenham are next up for City and head for Valley Parade on Saturday on the back of a six-game unbeaten run. Last season’s losing play-off finalists have also not lost on their travels this season.

Having kicked off with four straight home wins, City have found it harder going against Port Vale and York in the last two Valley Parade outings. Doyle admits they have to wise up to breaking down visiting teams who come to shut up shop.

“A lot of teams come here and respect us,” he added. “We have to learn how to deal with that because it’s going to happen week in, week out when we’re at home.

“We need to combat that and compete. We’ve got to set our own tempo – you can see how well we played in the second half of the York game.

“I know we’ve got players who are good enough to make a difference. Everyone has a big part to play.

“Whether you’re playing or out of the team, you’ve got to stay focused and remember it’s a squad game, not just the 11 that have been picked. We all want to do well here and I believe we can.”

Meanwhile, Rory McArdle was not in the line-up for Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifier in Portugal last night. The match was drawn 1-1.