Ryan Dickson has confessed to feeling like a bandwagon-hopper as he closes in on a Wembley role with City.

The on-loan Southampton defender is expected to make his fourth appearance tomorrow against second-placed Gillingham at Valley Parade.

With James Meredith out following his bout of glandular fever, the left-back slot is up for grabs for the Capital One Cup final in just over a fortnight.

Curtis Good played there in both games against Aston Villa but Dickson, who scored at Fleetwood last week, has come firmly into the reckoning.

Dickson, who is not cup-tied, joined the club before the semi-final second leg but missed out with a tight thigh.

He admits it would be strange to be involved in the final, having not featured once in City’s history-making run that is all down to his new team-mates.

He said: “Reaching the cup final is down to their hard work; it’s their baby. I can’t take any sort of credit for that.

“Those boys have given everything to get this far and you can’t give them too much respect for what they have achieved.

“It’s absolutely incredible – the chance of it happening again is one in a million.

“You’re lucky to play once at Wembley in your career. For a League Two team to get to the Capital One Cup final is outstanding.

“It is there but for myself, it’s in the back of my mind. Of course I’d play if I do get picked but it’s out of my hands.

“I want us to push on in the league and obviously get as many games as I can and perform like I know I can. We need to push on in the league and that’s got to be our focus.”

Phil Parkinson believes Dickson will start to show the quality that saw him win promotion from League One two seasons ago as he plays more games.

After coming on for the injured Rory McArdle at Highbury, there were glimpses of that talent – capped off with a confident finish for the seventh goal of his career. It was almost a year to the day of the last one on loan for Yeovil.

Dickson said: “The first two games came very quickly for me and I wasn’t up to scratch. That’s to be expected.

“We had a hard week away in Tenerife training and that was much needed. My fitness will come and performances will improve from that.

“Going away was a chance to get to know the boys and they are a very good bunch. I’ve fitted in really well – it feels like I’ve been here for months already.

“That’s something the gaffer has looked for when he’s put this team together. You want good characters and he’s definitely got that in the dressing room.”

Although this is the fifth time that Dickson has played on loan, he is not a fan of the system. But Parkinson made it clear from the outset that he would treat him as a permanent signing.

Dickson said: “I’m here to the end of the season and the first thing the gaffer said was that he sees me as one of his players. That helps a lot.

“Personally I don’t like going on loan. It’s obviously not the same as signing for a football club.

“Sometimes when you get brought in like that, you’re not too sure what people think of you. It can be hard to settle but I feel part of it here.

“Bradford are a big club and once they get out of this league, they can push on to the Championship. They are big enough.

“This is a hard league to get out of but with the way the boys are – and the positive attitude around the dressing room – we need to push on now and fight for promotion.

“Last week was a good point and it will be even better if we can beat Gillingham.”