“IT’S A miracle if they get anywhere near staying up – but don’t let it mask the problems if they do.”

Gordon Watson does not mince his words about the predicament City find themselves in.

Several of the striker’s old clubs are having a lean time right now; Hartlepool in the “monkey” league, Southampton “who would normally go down if it wasn’t the worst Premier League in 25 years.”

But the Bantams are the biggest worry for the 48-year-old, whose own fighting spirit was clear when he came back from that infamous shattered leg to pop up with some crucial goals during their rise to the top flight two decades ago.

Now they are facing the slide back to the bottom again – and "Flash", as he has always been affectionately known, insists a summer overhaul is the only solution, whatever happens in the League One run-in.

“The bottom line is that Gary Bowyer has got to draw a line in the sand,” he said.

“The people at the top have to ship up or ship out. Leave the manager the opportunity to go out about his business for next year.

“In a way, I think it will almost be good to go down because the fans will still turn up and give the support they need.

“Then you can get the right players in who can grow together. You can rebuild the momentum and confidence.

“These players have shown they don’t want to put their heads above the parapet.

“Everything points to a complete clear-out in the summer. You only want players prepared to go forward, no gravy-train merchants.”

The shortcomings of last summer’s scatter-gun approach to recruitment under the controlling influence of Edin Rahic have been ruthlessly exposed this season.

Blackpool were just the latest example; a bigger, stronger, more mobile unit swatted them aside. An object lesson in the type of players needed – and those sadly currently lacking.

Watson added: “Forget the missed penalty. The lad’s entitled to do that occasionally and he’s not missed the target.

“They’ve only come back once all season. But if someone wants to clutch at straws, there it is.

“It’s mismanagement. That’s what you get when you have clowns coming in who think they know better.

“I know no other business in the world where you have people who hire managers and then tell them what to do. It borders on insanity.

“You’ve got to look at the right recruitment. Get the right players for League Two who are ready for a war every week.

“It needs a spine – a goalkeeper, centre backs who have been round the block, centre midfield and someone who scores goals.

“Easier said than done but Bradford will still get 10-12,000 crowds, none of the other teams in that league can do that.

“Get a centre forward on a season-long loan from, say, a Southampton who will be able to handle it and will score you 20 goals. It’s all about goals.

“Look back to (Nahki) Wells and (James) Hanson and how everything was set up for them. Get the ball wide, get the defenders turned, hit the diagonal and get the second balls.”

Watson believes that promotion team of 2013 should be the template for City to rebuild from.

“They had a spine and had six captains out there. None of them had that little bit of fairy dust but they were a unit.

“You need to copy and paste that team and go out and get like-for-like because that will get the job done.

“We can all play when we’re 3-0 down because there is nothing to lose. I like strikers who score first because it breaks the deadlock, players who score away from home, players who are up for the fight.

“Sometimes a team might lose but they’ve dominated and they are still going in the 89th minute like they were in the fifth. You need that energy and pace.”

The absence of a team leader is something Bowyer has quickly identified. The change of the skipper’s armband between four or five hands is another symptom highlighting the lack of on-field management.

Watson stressed: “That’s all got to stop and in the summer he’s got to identify a club captain, a team captain and half a dozen decent old-school pros who can roll their sleeves up and point the finger.

“Then you need young, raw pace and enthusiasm in the full back and wide areas.”

City go to Charlton, where Watson began his career, this weekend still mathematically in the hunt. The gap to safety has stuck at six points despite the pitiful collapse against Blackpool.

But time is fast running out.

Watson said: “Don’t look at the league table. Just go out and have seven cup finals and enjoy yourself.

“As a manager, I’d be like ‘I’m not going to have a pop at you for doing anything positive.’

“If you get beaten, make sure you are the best second anyone has ever seen.

“And if they do somehow pull it off, don’t be fooled.

“You can’t let it mask what’s happened – like it did in December. How many of those players were looking to get away in the January transfer window?

“It looks suspicious because they’ve not done it since.

“If they stay up, I’d be saying ‘well done boys, now come here and pick up your P45.’ It’s nothing to celebrate.”