SILENCE may be golden but it could also prove costly for City’s players.

Stuart McCall and his coaching staff are dishing out fines at training for anyone who doesn’t talk enough during sessions.

McCall is keen to encourage a more vocal approach among his squad for the new season and hopes that hitting them in the pocket will have the desired effect of reminding them to generate more volume on the field.

“We want people to encourage and be vocal,” said the Bantams boss. “That’s why we’ve started fining people for not opening their mouths on the training ground.

“We want them to demand the ball. Don’t stand there and wait for a pass to come.

“Imagine you’re in the middle of the park on a Saturday and you’ve got your head down. But your hear a voice so you know where your team-mate is – it’s like radar.

“If you stand there and say nothing, nobody’s going to know. So open your mouth, get used to talking to each other and giving information.

“We’re a team and want to help each other. That’s what teamwork is.

“You work together and certainly your voice is a big part of that.”

McCall admits it is a societal problem in an era where people spend most of their time communicating via mobiles. It’s a bugbear with every modern-day manager.

He bemoaned the diminishing number of “leaders” in the game during the club’s recent online fans forum. City supporters would love to see another Gary Jones type in the current ranks.

“I’ve been saying it for years but leadership is a quality that I believe is severely lacking in football nowadays,” added McCall. “But that’s the generation we are in these days.

“I’ve said it for the last 15 years. I don’t know if that’s through academies or people being brought up without the same responsibilities.

“It’s up to me, Kenny (Black) and the staff to lead naturally but I want other people to stand up and be leaders in themselves. I’ve had a lot of one-to-one chats about this.

“It might be vocally, it might be doing it on the pitch or in the dressing room. You don’t have to be a shouter and bawler to take responsibility.

“I was on a conference 12-18 months ago hosted by Pep Guardiola. We are talking about Manchester City and the only couple of leaders he said he had in that dressing room were (Vincent) Kompany and (David) Silva and maybe Fernandinho.

“They are wonderful players but even there the leadership types are few and far between.

“I still believe the players we’ve brought in recently have all got a great desire not only to be here but to be successful and to really strive to be the best we can. I can trust them.

“Do we need to go and get a big enforcer? I’ve had plenty put to me but none really who would suit how we want to go about it.

“In an ideal world, of course I’d like two or three leaders in there like Roy Keane types.

“As I say, it’s a dying breed in football is leadership. We’ve all got to take responsibility, everybody in the club has got to show those leadership qualities.

“It’s our job as staff to bring that character out of them and let them express themselves on the park and the training ground. That’s what we are after.

“Some players may not naturally be loud people. So every day in training, there will be fines if you don’t call for the ball.”