CITY have been urged to thrive on the pressure as they aim to book their play-off ticket tomorrow.

A win at Southend will guarantee a League One top-six spot for Phil Parkinson's men.

With a five-point advantage on seventh place going into the penultimate weekend, they can also qualify if the teams immediately behind slip up.

But James Meredith wants the Bantams to remove any doubt by securing play-off entry their own way and maintaining the current momentum.

"We're in the business end of the season so every point is crucial," said the City defender.

"Everything you do in the game is more closely watched now. It's a lot of pressure – but it's also a good sort of pressure that we can enjoy.

"We're in a very good position. Our performances have progressively got better over the last seven or eight games, so we are going forward with real positivity."

City head to Roots Hall with the best form in the division over the last ten games. They have picked up 22 points from a possible 30 since beating Burton – one more in that time than leaders Wigan and fast-improving Scunthorpe.

Meredith insists the mind-set within the team is switched on for the possible huge matches ahead.

He said: "Everyone's staying calm. We're a professional bunch and a lot of us have been in this situation before. We've got a lot of experienced players and there's a lot of depth in the squad.

"Nobody is shying away from the challenge. Everybody is desperate to do the best they can. We had a couple of disappointing results (against Shrewsbury and Coventry) but we put that right in the last game."

As a veteran of the 2013 play-off success in League Two, Meredith can sense the same determination within the camp to see the job through.

But there is a lot more competition for places in the current squad, with several established names desperate to earn their chance again.

Meredith said: "That's why I'm sure players won't let the pressure get to them. There is so much competition in the team now and they'll be thinking 'I want to be part of the play-offs'.

"Nobody wants to be sitting on the sidelines watching a team potentially being successful. Everyone wants to be a part of it."

Meredith also wants to put last year's near-miss behind him, when City narrowly dipped out on the top six.

"Most players will watch the play-off games out of interest but it's frustrating to see when you're not involved," he said.

"Like last season, when we finished just outside, it was difficult to watch. You were sat there thinking 'that could have been us' because we were so close. We don't want that feeling again."

Walsall secured at least a play-off spot with victory on Tuesday but the race for the rest mathematically goes down as far as 11th-placed Port Vale.

Meredith is not surprised to see nearly half the division technically still in contention and said: "This year has been such a tight competition. There's not much difference from first place to tenth really.

"There are a lot of good teams and good players floating about. It's been a league where anybody can beat anyone. But I felt a while back that we were finding some form and the defence were looking solid.

"We haven't managed to do automatic, like I potentially thought we'd be able to at one stage. But that's football.

"We had a couple of disappointing results but played really well. That happens and hopefully luck will go our way in the next few games."

City's 4-0 thrashing of Walsall last weekend will have sent a powerful warning to the rest of the play-off pack.

Now they face a Southend side whose form has nose-dived since arriving at Valley Parade in February in seventh spot. They have since slipped below halfway after winning only one of the last eight games.

Meredith is keen for City not to let up as they close in on the end-of-season shoot-out and said: "We need to consolidate our position in the play-offs and put the other teams under pressure.

"Put in those good performances, keep our heads down and hopefully we'll produce something special for the fans."