DON’T mention the draws – Stefan Rupp is not interested.

City go into their first home appearance of 2017 this afternoon with only three league defeats in the German era.

That is some achievement from 25 games and nobody in League One can match it.

But that is balanced by a record of 12 draws, the most in the country.

That has taken the edge of an otherwise very satisfying first season at the helm for owners Rupp and Edin Rahic.

Rupp, in his first interview since they bought the club in May, has had more than enough of sharing the spoils.

“We’ve had so many draws and I don’t want that,” he told the T&A. “Either you win or you lose, risk it.

“Football is a game of winning or losing, not of draws. This is what I want my manager and my squad to understand. Be flexible, be aggressive, try new things.

“If they have done everything and still lose the game, then I will go down to the dressing room afterwards, shake their hands and congratulate them.

“Nobody wants to see any draws. A team of draws will not be promoted – they will finish in the middle of the table at the end of the season.”

The Valley Parade faithful are enjoying the style of play on offer although goals remain a problem. That is an area Rahic and Rupp will help Stuart McCall rectify during this transfer window.

City remain handily placed in fifth after the much-needed win at Northampton on Monday. But Rupp thinks they should be doing even better.

He added: “The lesson we have learned over the first half of the season is that despite playing good football, we have not scored enough goals and had too many draws.

“But we are still fifth. If you think about those chances – we have thrown ten to 15 points away.

“We have already reached 42. If you put ten on that, we would be top – so you see the quality of the squad.

“We can bring in the best strikers on the market but it is still a team effort. Everybody has to be 100 per cent – then we are getting promoted.

“But it’s an incredible starting point for the second half of the season.

“Who would have ever thought it when you think of the problems we had when we took over.

“Having almost no squad, having no management team, nothing really. I think all the guys have done a fantastic job – Edin, Stuart, Greg (Abbott) and James (Mason). It was a blank piece of paper for us but maybe that was a good thing. We didn’t have anything hanging over from last season.

“It was important that we started quite well. We wanted to give the young players a chance because (James) Hanson wasn’t there and Josh Cullen only partly and they did an incredible job.

“The fans also gave us their trust which really blew us away.

“It was quite a major change for City to be bought by German investors not really known to the football world. So that was a real bonus for us.”

Money man Rupp is still based near Munich but has a flat in West Yorkshire and tries to come over twice a month.

Rahic and Rupp have known each other for several years but the idea of teaming up came about through a mutual bank consultant.

Rupp laughed: “Edin was talking to him about his dream to buy a football club and he said I know one guy who is crazy enough to part with that kind of investment!

“But we have a very high amount of trust in each other’s capabilities. We speak every day – like a good couple should do!

“We are proud to make it happen but it’s a huge responsibility for both of us. We don’t want to let anybody down.

“Bradford has so much tradition and is cemented in the social life of the people and the region. That is something you have to respect.

“We know we have to do sensible actions and not do it like a bulldozer. Do that and you will fail.

“We started this project and I think after half of the season people now know us.

“Now everybody knows the style we are working with and the vision we have.

“It was visible on the scoreboard on Boxing Day.

“It was Edin’s dream in the first place and my investment in the second. But it very soon became quite a matter of the heart.”