DAVID Hopkin will wait for the referee’s report to see if City can appeal George Miller’s dismissal against Coventry.

The striker was sent off in the closing minutes of the 4-2 loss at Valley Parade – a fourth successive defeat which dropped the Bantams to the bottom of League One.

Miller was dismissed by referee Ross Joyce, who ruled that he had deliberately handled to turn the ball in the Coventry net.

The City loanee protested his innocence afterwards – and there were conflicting suggestions as to whether he was given a second booking or a straight red card.

If he was sent off directly, City could then appeal and possibly get him off to face Gillingham on Saturday.

Hopkin said: “I spoke to George and he’s said he put it in with his chest.

“It’s difficult to see from the video but nobody from Coventry complained.

“It’s a strange one. I don’t know if he’s given two yellows or if it’s a straight red card.

“We just need to wait and see what they come out with.”

Defender Ryan McGowan will miss the weekend after picking up his fifth booking and Alex Jones suffered more misery with a hamstring injury shortly after coming on.

Hopkin added: “It’s getting harder. Every time we get one player back, we always seem to lose someone.

“Alex Jones has come on and done his hamstring, Ryan’s going to miss out and George is going to get a ban unless we can appeal it.

“I thought it was a wee bit harsh. At first, I thought he was giving it for offside.

“One of their players has kicked the ball and it’s going in. Why would George hand ball it?”

City were 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes against a Coventry side who have won four in a row.

Skipper Anthony O’Connor scored twice but Hopkin was unhappy that once again his team conceded shortly after getting a foothold in the game.

The City head coach said: “You don’t need to score the next goal in the next five minutes. Take your time and let the game settle down.

“We’ve done it too many times now.

“The first corner in the box and you’re 1-0 down after 90 seconds. The second one is a silly free-kick, although it’s a fantastic finish.

“After that I thought we played really well and created a few chances. It was probably the best football we’ve played for a while.

“Hope (Akpan) came in tonight and hasn’t done anything for eight weeks. I thought he was fantastic in the first half and just had to be careful I didn’t play him too long.

“When he went off, we lost that shape for a few minutes and they scored two more goals.

“Then we got the second goal and the fans got behind us again. If we’d gone 4-3, we’d have had seven minutes for it to maybe happen again.

“The players gave everything but it’s just naivety with some of the chances. It’s disappointing.”

Plymouth’s win took them above City on goal difference at the foot of the table.

“It’s always difficult where we are,” admitted Hopkin. “It’s up to me now to lift them for Saturday.”