PAUL Caddis says any turmoil off the pitch should have no bearing on City’s survival bid.

The experienced defender made his Bantams debut at Peterborough as they claimed a first league point in seven games with Saturday’s gritty 1-1 draw.

There were more chants from the City fans against chairman Edin Rahic, who once again was absent from the stand.

But off-field discontent is nothing new to Caddis after his time with Birmingham and Blackburn. And he insists it has no disruption on the team.

He said: “I’m aware of it but every club I’ve been at has been the same.

“At Birmingham, Carson Yeung got jailed and you had the Venkys at Blackburn where the fans didn’t like them. It seems to be quite common these days.

“Honestly, it doesn’t affect the dressing room at all. It’s completely out of our control.

“Nothing at all has been said. It’s between the people behind the scenes and it’s nothing to do with us.

“I don’t know if the manager gets involved. Maybe he does extremely well to keep it away from us.

“But it doesn’t impact us at all. As players, we don’t know the ins and outs of the football club.

“It’s our job to just go out and perform and I’m sure the fans are behind us.”

Caddis played the full game at the ABAX Stadium – his first appearance for three months. He was encouraged by his new club’s efforts to muzzle League One’s top scorers.

He added: “We decided to concede possession and there were a lot of crosses in the box. But big Richard (O’Donnell) picked them out.

“Their goal looked a yard offside but these things happen when you’re at the bottom of the table.

“Maybe we could have been a bit more ruthless but it’s a point gained.

“It’s a big week for us. Go and win the FA Cup game tomorrow and it gives us a bit of momentum for Saturday.”

Boss David Hopkin believes he is getting closer to bringing in the staff he wants after Greg Abbott became the latest backroom departure.

The vacancy to replace Steve Banks as goalkeeping coach may take a few weeks to fill but Hopkin has his sights on a highly-rated sports science specialist and possible experienced back-up on the training pitch.

He said: “I want somebody who gets the players’ fitness levels up and makes sure the recovery is better, because it’s so important now.

“We’re playing three games a week and it’s important I can get somebody in who is specialist in that field.

“I can’t say too much because we’re still trying to iron out a few things. But hopefully they’ll be in place by the end of the month.

“We need to get the club more professional on and off the pitch. These guys have worked at top clubs and they are going to add great value.

“The standards are getting there, the fitness is there and hopefully we’re getting that togetherness that I’m massive on.”

“It’s about us now and our character going forward. Saturday was a different type of performance but it shows people can also dig in.”