Stuart McCall will urge City to learn the lessons of last season and “hang in there” in the play-off chase.

The Bantams will hit Christmas in the bottom half of League Two but McCall’s only focus is the four-point gap from the crucial seventh spot.

Twelve months ago, City headed for Lincoln on Boxing Day in fourth. They reached March in the same position before the wheels came off with a nine-match winless run.

Hence McCall’s disinterest over the current standings – and his determination to push on over the second half of the campaign.

“We’ve got to hang in there and look to do this season what we didn’t do last year,” he said.

“Where we tailed off last year, we’re going to look to have a really strong finish. Hopefully that will take us to where we want to go.”

City are currently 14th, their lowest position since August, although the compact nature of the table means the picture could change very quickly over the festive period.

The squad were back in training today to build up to the holiday schedule, which kicks off at Bury on Saturday.

“The league table at this moment in time means nothing to me, as I’ve said all along,” insisted McCall.

“Last season we were in the top three for part of it and the top seven for most of it but ended up out of it.

“Whether we’re eighth, 12th or 16th, it’s how many points we are away from the play-off positions that’s important to me. We’ve got to keep being in there and kick on in the new year when we get players back.

“All the lads are focused. They want to be here and they want to do well.

“We’ve just got to find a little bit of luck from somewhere and pick up a few wins where we’ve been drawing.

“Out of the five away draws we’ve had, even if two of them had been wins, we’d be in the play-offs.

“We have to look to the new year when the likes of Omar Daley will have had a few games. Hopefully Peter Thorne and Micky Boulding will be available and Stephen O’Leary but we’ll see what happens there.”

O’Leary, like loan keeper Simon Eastwood, is sweating on his Valley Parade future.

The injury-jinxed midfielder has played only one game since his summer arrival and McCall admitted: “Things have been so unfortunate for the kid.

“He’s back running but he’s still got a bit of pain and obviously his contract’s up for renewal.”