RICHARD O’Donnell says consistency is the name of the game for City as they head back to the scene of their opening win of the season.

The Bantams return to the University of Bolton Stadium tomorrow night hoping to bounce straight back from Saturday’s dismal defeat to Newport.

O’Donnell celebrated his first outing as City’s full-time captain with victory there in the Carabao Cup last month.

And the keeper is looking for more of the same against Ian Evatt’s side to get back on track after a Jekyll and Hyde week.

He said: “We've spoken today about trying to be more consistent in what we do and our performances. You only have to look at the last three games.

“We won away at Mansfield and then the first half against Walsall wasn’t particularly great.

“But we were better in the second and arguably could have won the game. Then you saw what happened on Saturday.

“In three games, we’ve had a bit of everything and that’s obviously not a help for us.

“The big thing has been about getting some consistency in our performances. Do that and then the results will hopefully follow.

“It’s very frustrating but it’s obvious what the issue is. It’s down to us to find that level of consistency because we’ve got a good enough squad.

“But it’s all right saying it, we’ve got to go out and do it.”

O’Donnell was picking the ball out of the net inside the first minute on Saturday – which set the tone for a second home loss as Newport cruised to the top of the table.

“Everyone was very disappointed with the result and performance.

“It doesn’t help at all when you concede after 45 seconds. But we’ve spoken in the dressing room before that there are going to be times when we go 1-0 down, whether it be the first minute or in the 80th, and you can’t let that affect you.

“We still had 92-93 minutes to get something from the game. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out but that’s something I feel we’ve got to be a lot better at.

“But we’ve got to put that to bed and push on again. We’ve got that many games coming up that you’ve got to move on.

“When you’re on a run, you can’t wait for the games to come thick and fast. But I personally feel it’s brilliant when you’ve got another game on Tuesday after losing like that because it’s the chance to put it right and get back on track.”

Having a keeper as captain has been questioned by some fans who feel there is no leader on the pitch.

But O’Donnell insists there is enough communication going on within the team.

“It can’t just come from me or the senior players in the team. We all have to chip in with it.

“We all have to act like captains out there and take responsibility. That should come as a given.

“There are no issues with communication from my side. Everyone should be doing their bit encouraging and driving people forward or having a little dig if it’s needed.

“That’s the sign of a strong team and good connection if everyone can do that.

“In terms of people speaking on the pitch, it’s definitely there. There is no issue with that.

“It’s easy to get carried away when you lose 3-0 at home like that and I totally understand that people are frustrated.

“But it’s not through a lack of effort from the boys. We are going out there every time to try and win a game of football.

“It’s just the consistency is not quite there and we obviously need to put that right."

City claimed the honours over Bolton just over seven weeks ago with Harry Pritchard's second-half header clinching a 2-1 win.

O'Donnell said: “Both teams know what each other are about after playing before. We’ve obviously played a few different formations in that time but Bolton will stick to their 3-5-2.

“We’ve got a good idea what they are going to be playing and probably the personnel as well.

“We need to put in a performance like we did in that opening game.”