JOSH Cullen could be excused for a certain feeling of déjà vu when he walks into Peterborough's away dressing room.

It was at the ABAX Stadium last season where the fiercely-competitive midfielder made his City debut.

Six months on, he will do the same tomorrow when the Bantams hunt their first win – and goal – of the fledgling campaign.

What they would give for a repeat of that previous visit, when Phil Parkinson's side enjoyed a 4-0 romp that came completely out of the blue.

Cullen said: "I still remember the day very well. It was a fantastic start for me.

"Peterborough had just played West Brom in the week in the FA Cup and given them a really close run for their money. They lost out on penalties.

"They were fancied to be one of the teams pushing for the play-offs and people were looking at them as a guaranteed home win. So to go and beat them 4-0 was incredible.

"The fans were brilliant and it was one of those games when everything seemed to click. We looked dangerous and you fancied us to score every time we went forward.

"A similar result and performance would obviously be great – but I'd just take the three points with a 1-0, however it comes."

Stuart McCall spared Cullen any involvement in the marathon night at Accrington to make sure he is fully fit and raring to go this weekend.

The on-loan West Ham youngster is expected to have a big influence during the five months he is initially contracted to the club.

Cullen said: "I was obviously keeping a close eye on the Port Vale result and I know it was a good performance from the team. They were unlucky not to win.

"If we can carry that on and take our chances, then I don't see any reason why we can't be challenging for the promotion places again.

"Coming in so early gives me plenty of time to knuckle down because it's a long, hard season for everyone. But these are exciting times at the club.

"I think it is going to be a really tight league again. Nobody will run away with it. Bar the Premier League, there are no real bankers in any division – the Championship, League One or League Two.

"You saw in the Championship last week, with Newcastle and Aston Villa losing their opening games, you just don't know. You can never predict who is definitely going to be up there.

"Everyone here is confident we have got a good enough squad, good enough management and coaching staff. We're going to all work together and aim to be right up there come the end of the season."

City will be hoping that Cullen's involvement extends beyond the January deadline agreed with the Hammers.

Having had a bid to sign him rejected out of hand by his parent club early in the summer, their keenness in hanging on to him for as long as possible is obvious.

Cullen himself said: "My focus is just on the next five months until January. Then we'll review it and all parties can sit down together and see where we want to go from there.

"It's so important that we start well in the first half of the season and put ourselves in a position to go into the second part right up there and challenging."