STUART McCall has backed his young debutants to thrive in front of the big Valley Parade faithful as City kick off their season against Blackpool tomorrow.

The Bantams new boys, including Adam Chicksen, Jake Reeves and Shay McCartan, are set to play in front of over 19,000 home fans for the first time.

And McCall expects them to handle the atmosphere and anticipation at a ground where City – who yesterday tied down skipper Romain Vincelot on a new deal until summer 2019 – went unbeaten in the league through the whole of last season.

He said: “It’s up to the players to relish it and grasp it. Hopefully with the ones we’ve brought in they’ll do that.

“There are a few younger ones not used to playing in front of such a big crowd with high expectations but the supporters have been outstanding home and away.

“There are no guarantees but I’m more than hopeful the players will go out and enjoy it and embrace it. Until they are out there and doing it, you never know how they will react.

“Last season we had a lot of experienced players and we knew what to expect from them. This time it is a bit different but we are hopeful and expectant that they will really enjoy it.

“If you can’t thrive in front of big crowds when you are getting backed, you shouldn’t be in the game.”

Blackpool, likely to have good support themselves, arrive in good spirits after winning promotion through the League Two play-offs.

But McCall wants his side to make a statement of intent as they look to launch another strong campaign following last season’s near-miss at Wembley.

He said: “We really want to be putting our marker down in the first home game.

“I thought we did that last year against Port Vale when everyone went away quite buoyant because other than the result (a 0-0 draw) we put in a really strong performance and gave a lot of encouragement for going forward.

“As much as we want to win tomorrow, we also want a strong display.”