MARK Marshall knows he made the right call to stick with City after Northamp-ton’s summer interest.

Cobblers boss Rob Page wanted to sign Marshall in pre-season when the winger’s Valley Parade future looked to be up in the air.

He was eyeing a move away after a difficult first year with the club. Page saw the opportunity to grab someone who had played regularly for him at Port Vale.

But Stuart McCall talked Marshall round – and he has not looked back since.

Marshall said: “Sometimes you’ve got to face life’s challenges head on and be confident in yourself.

“I made a decision and the gaffer made the decision that I was going to be here.

“I wasn’t guaranteed a starting place but he said get your head down, work hard – and up until now I’ve done that and I’m playing.

“I’m fully focused on Bradford City. Whatever’s gone on, whether it was Rob Page or someone else who was interested, it doesn’t matter.

“You live in the here and now. I’m here and playing.

“Rob Page is a good manager but I’ve worked with a lot of good managers. The gaffer’s a good manager.

“Everything was in limbo a few months ago but now it’s all settled.

“I’m not going to be perfect every week but one thing I’m not going to do is let down the team by not working hard. The least I can do is work my socks off.

“Be honest with yourself and hopefully that will manifest in your actions.”

Saturday’s 3-0 loss at Southend was Marshall’s 16th start for McCall – he only made 12 all last season – and he is clearly enjoying a new lease of life with the City legend.

There is the constant challenge of keeping his place and helping the Bantams maintain their own spot among the League One front-runners.

Those hopes took a dent in Essex and Marshall expects no favours from Northampton this evening.

“Teams raise their game when they come to Valley Parade, so it’s always going to be hard,” he said.

“We know that every week we’re going to face a challenge because of where we are in the league.

“You can see we are up there on merit – but the gaffer is keeping us humble.

“We’ve got an honest bunch of lads and don’t take anything for granted.

“Every player out there knows that somebody is trying to take their shirt.

“As the manager has showed, he will ring the changes if need be. That reminds you as a player to stay focused.

“No matter how you’ve been playing, you can get the chop. That drives you on to do well.”