Present's tense so forget about the future, says Bradford City midfielder Ravenhill (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Present's tense so forget about the future for now, says Bradford City midfielder Ricky Ravenhill

9:40am Friday 17th February 2012 in Sport By Simon Parker

Ricky Ravenhill says City have a strong enough squad to cope with the busy end-of-season schedule

Ricky Ravenhill has warned City to get their house in order before thinking too far ahead.

Phil Parkinson’s recent captures have been with an eye towards next term.

Plans are clearly being put in place with Matt Fry, Will Atkinson and possibly Deane Smalley pencilled in with a long-term view.

Ravenhill himself made his move from Notts County permanent last month when he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.

The keen-tackling midfielder, who skippered City in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Port Vale, believes they can have a “real good go” for promotion come August.

But he insists the immediate priority is making sure they don’t get sucked into a relegation scrap over the next couple of months.

He said: “We want to finish this season strongly and get away from that bottom area.

“We know realistically next season is going to be one when we want to have a real good go. We want to prove to everyone that we can get out of this division.

“But first things first, we’ve got to get things in place now and put another run together.

“We had a good run before and looked a good team but then we suffered a little blip with a couple of defeats, so it’s important we make sure we get back to winning ways.

“We’re not worrying too much because if we are at it, we think we’re good enough to beat anyone in this division.”

Tomorrow’s trip to Torquay, the division’s hottest team, kicks off a month of motorway marathons for the Bantams. With games at Barnet, Dagenham, Wimbledon, Aldershot and Plymouth approaching, they will cover around 2,500 miles by the end of March.

But Ravenhill believes City have the strength in depth to cope with the punishing schedule.

“You look at the people who aren’t quite in the first team and they are good players. They should be playing regularly somewhere.

“We’re lucky to have a strong squad like we’ve got at the moment and we’re going to need it all.

“The gaffer knew that and made sure we’ve got enough to cover for the run-in. We’ve got two people who can play in every position.”

After successive Saturday postponements, Ravenhill does not mind the prospect of playing most midweeks as well to catch up.

“It’s not a big deal because we all want to play games anyway,” he added. “You just need to look after yourself and do things right between them.

“Everyone prefers it. Rather than training all week for a game at the end of it, now you get an extra one in the middle.

“We’ve got a decent squad with people coming back fit again after the little break. So we’re looking better going into this run coming up.

“The last few weeks have been frustrating but you get used to it over the years. You’re going to have a spell every season when it’s going to be like that because of the weather.

“You prepare for every game but in the back of your mind, you are thinking it’s going to be off.

“You have to get your head round it and make sure that you are ready for when the games do go ahead. Now we’ve got plenty in the weeks to come and we want to get this team moving forward again.”