MARK Marshall is primed for his first league start since September for City tonight – and Phil Parkinson wants Valley Parade right behind him.

The winger is set to replace Kyel Reid against Barnsley after coming off the bench to set up Jamie Proctor's equaliser at Port Vale.

Reid is a major doubt after his knee flared up and Parkinson admits they will have to manage his injury during the next run of games.

Marshall played the full 120 minutes in the FA Cup against Bury last week – but has not started a league game for four months.

Parkinson said: "I want our supporters to get behind Marshy and give him a chance. He's shown a fantastic attitude for us.

"It's difficult when you come to a club and lose your place in the team. But we put the onus on him at half-time (on Saturday) to go on and produce and he did. The way he shaped that cross in was top class."

James Hanson is also expected to rejoin the squad after missing the last two games as City try to make inroads in the congested League One play-off race.

The Bantams are currently five points off sixth spot with two games in hand – but tonight's visitors are also not ruling out a charge from five further back.

Parkinson said: "You look at top teams like Burton, Walsall and Coventry dropping points and it's so tight. We've just got to concentrate on what we have to do and not look too far ahead.

"We need to put in a performance where there are moments to lift our crowd. We want to get the stadium right behind the team again.

"We've probably lost our way with that in the last couple of games, for whatever reason. We need to make it a great place for our home players to play and a difficult one for the opposition – rather than the other way round."

City go into the game boosted by their second-half rally against Vale, when they hit back after Lee Evans was sent off. Parkinson is looking for that spirit again.

He said: "It was really heartening on the touchline to see those characters – Darby, Meredith, McArdle – who've been with us through the years standing up and competing like they did.

"We got stronger in our resolve but also we looked like we could score as well. It's given us a great deal of heart to take into this game.

"They were difficult conditions, which it's going to be at this stage of the year. Rain's forecast to come in again tonight.

"As (Hull City boss) Steve Bruce said, this time of year, when the winter months kick in, is about resolve and determination."

Barnsley boss Lee Johnson had to ride the storm after a shocking start – but the Tykes stood firm with him and have now won their last four games.

With a third of managers losing their job every season, Parkinson was pleased to see Barnsley not swing the axe.

He said: "Lee's a young manager and they stuck with him through as bad a spell as he's probably ever going to have. But that will do him good.

"A lot of (the pressure) is social media, which doesn't help. But that isn't going to change.

"A couple of years ago, Arsene Wenger was getting abuse at the train station – but I wonder if those fans are praising him now.

"Everyone was listening to phone-ins in the summer, saying he wasn't signing players and he should have done.

"Now everyone realises he was right but you don't see people ringing up saying 'well done, Arsene'.

"So if that's what happens to a manager who has been there that many years and won that many trophies, it's going to happen lower down."