RORY McArdle feels the current City squad possess a "special" bond as they prepare to pay silent tribute to the victims of the Valley Parade fire.

Stuart McCall and the players will take up their traditional position in Centenary Square for this morning’s memorial to remember the 56 who died in the tragedy 32 years ago.

Some will not have attended the service before but others, like McArdle, have made sure they are well aware of the impact the fire continues to have on the city.

He said: “Bradford are a massive club and a special club. We have the memorial and, for a few of the lads, this will be their first time.

“They were asking about it recently. We went through it, making sure they understood. It brings everyone at the club together.

“The memorial is not an enjoyable time, it is a time to remember those not with us anymore. But I am hoping there will be smiles on people’s faces at the same time because the club are at Wembley.”

The long-serving defender’s goal in the play-off semi-final first leg against Fleetwood proved enough to book their place in the May 20 contest with Millwall.

He feels the tight unity within the group has been the key to their success in getting so far.

McArdle added: “It is a huge achievement and probably even bigger than reaching the play-offs last year, especially when you consider where we were last summer.

“The change of ownership and the new gaffer coming in was a big thing. We only had eight or so players, too, so there was a lot to do recruitment-wise.

“That went well and the lads who were already here have knitted together really well. That has been massive.

“At clubs, you can find players who have all the ability in the world who then, off the pitch, don’t always get on with others.

“When you spend as much time together as we do on away trips and so on, that bond is important.

“You can see from the togetherness we all showed on the pitch after Fleetwood that there is something special here.”

City could be followed by up to 38,000 fans at Wembley and ticket sales have been rapid. It makes up for the lowly away allocation for the semi-final decider at Fleetwood last weekend.

“Unfortunately, there weren’t as many Bradford fans here as we had hoped,” said McArdle. “Ideally, we would have had the second leg at home so everyone could share in it.

“Bradford fans always travel in numbers and I saw a few jump up at the final whistle in the home end. We knew they were there.

“Getting to Wembley is a massive achievement. It is something we spoke about at the start of the season, the need to improve on last year and we have now done that.

“But it won’t count for anything unless we progress and reach the final. We need that right result.”

It will be the ninth meeting between City and Millwall in the past two-and-a-half seasons.

McArdle has played in six of them – and the play-off exit last year remains the only defeat.

He said: “(Facing) Millwall is probably fate, especially as you look at how they finished the season.

“They got in the play-offs by scoring late on so I am sure they will be thinking the momentum is with them.

“After that, I always felt they would beat Scunny (Scunthorpe). A bit like we did a few years ago, Millwall snuck in the back door and that brings belief and momentum.

“We were nowhere near in 2013 with ten or 11 games to go but the momentum we built up made all the difference.

“The games against Millwall were tough last year. But this is one we are all looking forward to.”