LEE Novak is refusing to rule out a play-off shot this season.

Stuart McCall won’t discuss the top seven again until City put their house in order.

The Bantams are looking to bounce back against Plymouth after successive away losses have seen them slip four points behind.

But striker Novak believes a play-off finish is still in their sights.

He said: “We have to (believe). Even we don’t, then what’s the point?

“A couple of wins and you’re back in the picture and then everyone is thinking that Bradford are the form team.

“It’s in our own hands but we’ve got to get the wins and hopefully that starts this weekend.

"We need to put a run together to get back up there."

Novak is well qualified to talk about opponents Plymouth – he has faced them twice this season for Scunthorpe.

They drew 2-2 at Home Park before Argyle won the away fixture 3-1 at the start of January, kicking off their current run of only one defeat in 11 games.

Novak added: “The table doesn’t lie and they are up there for a reason.

“I’ve played them twice already with Scunthorpe and they are a good team.

“Plymouth are strong and good going forward but we’ve got to concentrate on how we can hurt them and hopefully we can do that.

"We're a positive group and the focus all week has been on getting a result.

"It's good to be back at home and hopefully we can carry on where we left off against Stevenage and get the three points."

Paudie O'Connor picked up a knock against Newport and City will assess his fitness. Kurtis Guthrie is still out with a minor problem.

McCall has been hoping to get Kelvin Mellor and Callum Cooke back into contention.

Mellor is yet to play for him after suffering a hamstring injury against Cheltenham last month, while Cooke has been troubled with a back problem.

Assistant boss Kenny Black said: "We have two or three who are closer to getting fit but possibly Saturday might come a little bit too soon for them.

"We've been restricted a little bit by the weather this week regards to conditions in which to train in.

"We've tried to organise bounce games but the weather has beaten us all. It's frustrating for everyone.

"Hopefully we can get enough quality on the pitch to trouble Plymouth."