PACE and power – it has become the mantra for Gary Bowyer.

Those are the two ingredients that City are most lacking in their manager’s eyes and something is he is desperate to rectify once the summer transfer market is open.

It has not taken the Bantams boss long to spot the weaknesses in the squad he inherited last month – just a week on the training ground, in fact.

He realised pretty much straight away the areas where his side are lacking after the haphazard approach to recent windows.

Valley Parade fans recently got a painful glimpse of the side that Bowyer had assembled at Blackpool.

That 4-1 home defeat made for unpleasant viewing but also offered a hint of encouragement about how he intends to rebuild the Bantams.

This afternoon’s opponents Coventry have been put together along similar lines.

Mark Robins, who celebrates his 100th league game in charge, has recruited with the same ideas in mind.

Having come straight back from League Two last season, they still have an outside sniff of the last play-off spot after re-establishing themselves in the third tier.

Bowyer can see a lot of what he wants in the Sky Blues set-up.

“My thinking is clear on what is needed,” he said. “I know exactly what I want.

“The past few weeks have been very useful in that respect.

“Though I had a good idea inside the first week as to what we need. My thinking probably has not changed since then, having watched the first week in training.

“Coventry are a good example. They have pace and power in wide areas.”

The one current player that fits the mould for Bowyer is Sean Scannell, finally back in the reckoning after a season wrecked by a fractured back.

Having made his comeback from the bench against Doncaster, the winger played 72 minutes at Bristol Rovers and looked the part again.

It may be too little too late in terms of salvaging City’s desperate situation but Scannell’s reappearance has at least offered some encouragement. Bowyer certainly thinks so.

He added: “You saw the difference last week having Sean Scannell back.

“What difference that makes and the lift it gives the team. We have identified more pace and power, plus the physicality. That is a massive thing.

"It is okay saying, ‘We want nice, technical players’. I am all for that.

“But you have to be able to compete as well. You have to be able to run.

“They are the ones we have identified. The right sort of character is massive, too.”

City are on their second six-game losing streak in the league this season. Another loss at the Ricoh Arena would equal the miserable run under Nicky Law after they came out of the first administration in 2002.