Bradford City 0

Everton 1

Stuart McCall slumped wearily into his chair an hour after Saturday's game and knew that Terry Butcher was spot on.

McCall had spoken to his old Rangers pal during the week when the idea of taking the player-manager job was tossing and turning in his head.

The message on the other end of the line couldn't have been clearer: ''It can't be done.''

McCall, 90 minutes wiser after Everton unjustly stole a late winner, backed Butcher's judgement all the way.

"I'd say it's almost impossible to do both at the same time," McCall said. "There are just too many things going on.

"Terry was in the same position at Coventry ten years ago. He said how difficult it was then in the old First Division, so imagine how much harder it is in the Premiership.

"People like Gordon Strachan and Ray Wilkins have tried to do it over the years. They love a challenge but they know what demands are involved.

"While you're playing, you are trying to make substitutions and think about changing the team around. It's just too much to take on.

"I kept thinking about taking people off, then they'd do something and when I looked up at the clock again, the time would have raced by.

"I was looking at Stan Collymore, thinking that he's going to be tired after playing so little football in the last year.

"The next minute he's knocking a great ball in for Gareth Whalley and we've nearly scored. It would have been easy if we'd been 1-0 up, but trying to do it all at once was tough."

Ironically Coventry boss Strachan was in the crowd to check out the Bantams before his side's visit on December 2.

He will have sympathised with McCall over the harshest of defeats which plonked City back on the bottom of the table.

It was tight, tense and not particularly pretty as the Bantams tried to wipe that wretched performance against Charlton out of the system.

Matt Clarke, watched by England goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas, hardly had a save to make as City sweated on forcing their first win in 11 matches.

In-form Jamie Lawrence rattled the woodwork first half and late on Whalley forced a wonderful save from Paul Gerrard with a header. But despite truckloads of toil and numerous scrambles, the ball wouldn't go in.

Inevitably when it did three minutes from time it was Clarke picking the ball out the net after Gary Naysmith had forced home a rebound from Joe-Max Moore's power drive.

A late rally couldn't save it as City lost for the third time in four home matches.

McCall said: "Everton got done last week against Aston Villa in the last minute and now it's happened to us. But unfortunately we didn't give their keeper enough to do.

"We got into so many great positions without delivering the final ball. We got into the right areas but passed up the opportunities to shoot."