His apology was still hanging in the air but Dean Windass couldn't resist switching back into his usual bullish mode.

"I know I've let everybody down big time," he said an hour after Saturday's game. "I'll have to make up for it and come back after the ban with a hat-trick, like I did last time against Scunthorpe."

Few would bet against it happening either. Flick back through the statistics during his second spell at Valley Parade and it is no idle boast.

In his first season back, Windass missed a chunk in mid-term through injury and returned with four goals in his next five games.

The following year he saw red against Wrexham on Boxing Day. After sitting out another suspension, he averaged a goal a game for the next six outings.

And in April, he wrote his own script. Sidelined for a month after bad-mouthing referee Darren Drysdale in the car park, Windass stepped back in the side on his 37th birthday and sunk a celebratory treble.

But once again, Windass will have a lot of making-up to do; not least with those he shares a dressing room with who had to play the majority of Saturday's game with a man down.

They are owed more than just an apology for his self-confessed "second of madness".

At a crucial point of the season, the top scorer's mindless actions have ruled him out of contention.

Chairman Julian Rhodes last week singled out the four matches coming up as critical to City's fortunes. In his programme notes for the game against Bournemouth, Rhodes talked about stopping the freefall down the table.

Three points against the Cherries was top of his agenda. Even given the recent struggles, most people had it down as a home banker.

The red card thrust in the direction of Windass changed all that; in the end, City were grateful to come out with anything.

And again it brings up the annual debate: Can City win without Windass?

The three matches he misses are, as Rhodes pointed out, very significant.

The FA Cup tie with Millwall on Friday could unlock the door to a much-needed pay day with a decent draw in the next round. Then next week's London double at Leyton Orient and Millwall again offers the chance to put some daylight between City and the League One nether regions.

Losing your most potent scoring threat is not the wisest move but it is not the doom and gloom scenario that some might think.

City will insist they are not a one-man team - and the figures do back that up.

They certainly struggled without Windass in his first year back at the club. City lost eight of the ten league games when he did not play a part, although they got beaten most weeks anyway on the road to relegation.

But study their Windass-less form since the drop and the results do stack up.

He missed five in 2004-05 and City went down only once. Loan players Dele Adebola and Neil Roberts picked up the slack as Bristol City were brushed aside and Danny Forrest seized the moment from the bench to earn a win at Port Vale.

Last term, Windass sat out six games in the league - all significant ones. He was badly missed in a derby defeat to Huddersfield and then spent another five weeks in clink' after his post-match set-to with officials at the Brentford game.

His enforced absence in the spring came at a time when City were hovering nervously above the relegation dogfight. A last-minute loss at MK Dons, the first of his five-game suspension, threatened to drag them in even deeper.

But City dug in and bagged seven points from the next 12 to kill off any threat.

Aaron Wilbraham was borrowed on loan for month and - a hideous home defeat to Oldham aside - the performances picked straight up.

Damion Stewart notched his only goal for the club to sink Bournemouth; Joe Brown nodded that priceless stoppage-time winner against Blackpool; David Wetherall unleashed a Ronaldinho-esque overhead kick to rescue a point from two down at Walsall.

They were all results that screamed of character - and were all achieved without arguably the biggest character in the side.

Now the challenge is there for them to do it again minus Windass. It is one that the players should relish.

The debate has raged all season about who best to partner City's main man up front and the jury remains out on whether David Graham or Eddie Johnson is the most effective foil.

Now they have the chance to play together and strike up their own understanding and, if it works, is there any guarantee that Windass will walk straight back in?

Colin Todd's critics often complain that Windass is undroppable and will never be taken off, no matter how bad things might be going.

Todd insists that is not the case and said he was lucky not to be hauled off during last month's hefty beating at Blackpool. The proof in the pudding will come if Graham and Johnson can hit it off next week.

Windass, no doubt, will bounce back with a bang because he always does - but it's up to the players he let down so badly to keep him waiting.

"Hopefully, whoever comes in can do a good job and we'll still get the results," said Windass. "I'm sure that Bradford can win without me."

After all, it's been done before. No one player is bigger than the club.