STEPHEN Darby will be back in the City dressing room tomorrow to address the team before the mouth-watering Valley Parade meeting with Liverpool.

The sell-out friendly aims to raise money for the motor neurone disease foundation set up by Darby and friend Chris Rimmer.

And the Bantams history-maker will deliver his own personal message to the current team as they prepare to face the European champions.

Boss Gary Bowyer said: “I’ve only been here four months but the amount of people who hold him in such high regard and speak so highly of him is incredible.

“We’ve spoken on the phone and he’s shocked and surprised by the response of everybody. That tells you that he’s very humble.

“He’s going to come and address the players and we are looking forward to that.

“If we can get players to achieve what he did for the club then we’re going in the right direction.”

Liverpool opened their pre-season with a 6-0 win at Tranmere on Thursday. The Valley Parade visit is their only other English game before heading off on tour to America.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will be missing several established names because they have been away on international duty in the African Cup of Nations and the Copa America.

The likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Firmino and Alisson are not due back.

But City can still expect to face a strong team containing James Milner, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Divock Origi as well as some young talent.

“It is a shame for the supporters (there are big stars not involved) but I feel sorry for some of the Liverpool players because it’s like they are playing 12 months of the year now,” added Bowyer.

“It’s non-stop for them so obviously there are going to be some missing.

“But having looked at the team that played Tranmere, there are going to be some big hitters arriving.

“They’ve also developed their younger players really well over the last few years.

“(Harry) Wilson had a wonderful year at Derby, (Ryan) Kent went to Rangers and Rhian Brewster is an exciting talent who unfortunately had an injury last year.

“But he’s come back and scored two the other night. They have really got it going at the club from top to bottom.”

The Valley Parade crowd is set to top the 24,321 who watched the FA Cup quarter-final with Reading in 2015, making it the largest attendance since the stadium was rebuilt after the fire.

Bowyer admits he is running out of superlatives to describe the backing from the fans – and believes it will be a good opportunity to see how his players react in front of such a big audience.

“Your likes of Clayton Donaldson and James Vaughan have got that experience. But I will get a good indication of who can handle playing at Valley Parade and thriving in front of the supporters.

“That was my main question with everyone I’ve spoken to in the recruitment. ‘Can you handle playing in front of packed houses every other week?’

“They all obviously were excited and delighted to come and be part of that. I’ll get a better understanding from this game.

“We’ll learn a hell of a lot but ultimately it’s more important for Stephen Darby and raising the awareness of the foundation.”

Bowyer hopes some of Darby’s mental strength will rub off with his new signings as he looks to add more before the season kicks off on August 3.

“The characters that we’ve brought in have made a big impact in the group. I feel the cloud’s been lifted off the ones who were here last season.

“The main aim with the recruitment has been getting people in who are winners.

“I’d like to still add. People have said I’ve brought 10 in but I look at it as only 10.

“We certainly have identified targets but we probably need some outs first.”