PHIL Parkinson is urging referees to end the "ridiculous" treatment of James Hanson.

The City boss has decided enough is enough about the lack of protection for his targetman.

He has compiled a DVD of clips of questionable calls against Hanson which he will show to Football League referees' chief David Allison.

With Valley Parade braced for its first 20,000-plus league crowd since 2002 against Sheffield United tomorrow, Parkinson hopes the City striker will get better protection from match official Neil Swarbrick.

He said: "I think James just despairs – but we've got to help him. Some decisions are completely inexplicable.

"There are times when you've got two or three players pulling Hanson's shirt. He's the fairest striker, very honest in the way he plays, and people are dragging him all over the pitch.

"We're getting free-kicks given against him and it's getting to the point where it has become ridiculous.

"Whether teams are throwing themselves to the floor every time he goes up and they are talking about that in training, it's got to the point where Hans needs more protection from refs.

"We keep moaning about it but I've decided this is the time to do something.

"We've put a compilation of certain incidents together and I'm going to give Dave Allison a call to meet me."

Parkinson fears that Hanson is building up a reputation and officials go into games with preconceived ideas about the way he plays.

The Bantams boss said: "You look at some of the ones we've clipped down already. If you asked 100 people which way the foul went, 99 would be to us – but it's gone the other way.

"They are glaring examples where referees have probably gone into the game with a premeditated view on James Hanson. We've got to look to change that."

Winger Paul Anderson comes in for Josh Morris, who faces up to four weeks out with a knee injury he suffered against Fleetwood.

City are also expected to hand former Liverpool keeper Brad Jones his debut after a second reserve outing in midweek.

Parkinson said: "We had a younger team out and he had a lot more action. He's ready, whereas ten days ago I wouldn't have said that.

"I want to be fair to Brad as well. He's come in and is champing at the bit to play but he needed that 11 v 11 practice."

Parkinson was shortlisted for the Sheffield United job in the summer and admits it was an unsettling time as Gianni Paladini's takeover bid hung over Valley Parade.

"I was a little bit concerned about that, I've got to be honest," he said.

"Things come out in the press that make people feel that it's further down the road than it actually is.

"But it was an unsettling period around the club full stop during that month. It was unsettling for me and my family – but the good thing is that I've got a very open relationship with Julian (Rhodes) and Mark (Lawn).

"That's football, things happen all the time. For me to have the stability as the sixth longest-serving manager and the club to be in the same hands for a number of years is quite unusual now.

"It's not the norm for a manager to be at a club so long. It was a little unsettling but you learn to live with those things in football and move on quickly.

"I enjoy working with Julian and Mark. I've got a good relationship with them and I'm looking to continue to build the club.

"As a manager you've got to keep proving yourself every single game. We've had a good couple of away results but our focus is on this home game now and really putting in a strong performance."

The Blades have suffered back-to-back losses at home but Parkinson still views them as a good benchmark for his improving side.

He said: "I remember when we played them when we first got into this division. There were 18,000 here making it a great atmosphere and we proved we could match anybody at this level.

"This is another test. Everybody is saying Sheffield United are outright favourites to win the league – and that's probably correct with the squad they've got.

"We want to upset them and let's hope we can. We go into it very confident ourselves after the recent run we've been on."

Meanwhile, defender Reece Burke's youth loan from West Ham has been extended by a month.