TONY McMahon reckons there is no need to fret about City’s lack of defensive numbers.

Stuart McCall is still looking to bring in a couple more this month as the long-running hunt for another right-sided centre half stretches on.

That will carry on this week but Saturday’s win at Gillingham – and first clean sheet – has bought them more time.

McMahon skippered the side as Romain Vincelot began his three-match ban and helped the Bantams fend off the aerial danger of the home side.

With Nathaniel Knight-Percival partnering Matt Kilgallon in the middle, McMahon feels there is enough experience to cope.

He said: “It’s a new unit but a good one. You look at me, Nat, Doyler (Colin Doyle) and Killa and there are a lot of games between the four of us.

“It’s not as if we’ve just been thrown together. We’ve all been around.

“Nat can play on the right hand side, Killa can easily do it as well. It happens.

“You see right backs playing left back. It’s not natural but people can play there.

“Killa and Nat are good footballers and good defenders and can play anywhere.

“Young Tom (Field) has come in and done well and he’ll be better for that.

“He will improve as the season goes on as the team will.”

City’s interest remains in taking a Premier League defender on loan but that is in the hands of his parent club.

McCall’s men are one of five teams with maximum points in League One. Dominic Poleon’s first-half strike at Priestfield Stadium made it a perfect six from six.

Poleon was also guilty of a terrible open-goal miss just before half-time but City kept it tight to spare his blushes.

“We haven’t mentioned it to him!” added McMahon. “Dom had done the hardest thing to go round the keeper and maybe he relaxed a little bit and took his eye off the ball.

“But we can laugh about it now and I thought he was lively. You can see he’s a threat and he’ll get goals for us.

“Keeping the clean sheet was massive for confidence. As a defender, your game is based on doing that.

“The gaffer likes the full backs to bomb on but we are defenders first and foremost. Doyler wanted his clean-sheet bonus more than anyone and tells us to stay as much as we can!

“We’d done our homework before and the manager said they were probably only going to score from a long throw, a corner or a free-kick.

“We gave them too many chances in the second half to put the ball in the box. But we got our head on things and blocked stuff and kept them out.

“We haven’t really played that well over the two games. But we’ve got six points – which is two more than at this stage last season.

“I remember we battered Port Vale on the opening day and only got one point. So it’s a good start but we know that we can get much better.”