CITY won’t get wrapped up in the rumour mill after Elliot Watt was linked with Hull.

The League One promotion chasers are keeping tabs on the midfielder, according to a national report over the weekend.

But Conor Sellars does not expect the speculation to derail City’s bid for a fifth straight win when they face Mansfield at Valley Parade tonight.

“It happens at every club,” said the Bantams joint boss. “Players play well and they get linked with clubs in higher leagues or positions.

“I know Elliot’s the kind of character that won’t let it affect him. He’s just got to make sure that he’s putting performances in.

“That (speculation) is part and parcel of football. If you’re going to get interest from a higher division, then you are obviously doing something right.

“The skill is to do it consistently. But again, he’s a Bradford City player and he’s going to give everything to the cause.

“Rumour from a paper might be nothing. You hear things that happen like that.

“We’ve just got to keep everybody level-headed and working on the next game which is Mansfield.”

City, who last won five in a row in 2004, continue to be one of the form teams in the division.

But Mansfield went on a similar run over Christmas before a five-game slump without a win.

Sellars added: “We just want to try and make sure that doesn’t happen to us. But ultimately, we’ve got to be mindful that teams lose games and we’re no different.

“Teams are going to come here and be better than us on the day and we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and make sure we’re ready for the fight.

“It’s so tight between the places in the league table.

“That’s why you can’t ever lose concentration and why we always talk about the next game.

“As you see, Southend are beating top teams and things like that. We’ve got to be ready.

“We’ve got a job to do whether we’re playing the top of the table or the bottom. We’ve got to be ready.”

City endured a nervous finish at Walsall before their latest victory – which Sellars put down to “mental fatigue”.

“We just lost a little bit of concentration towards the end,” he admitted.

“They were quite random in the way they were attacking, which changed how we had to defend and who had who.

“I don’t think it was the mentality but we were just subconsciously affected for a period of time.

“It was massive for the guys to come under that pressure and still win the game.

“There was a lot going on and you can’t question their endeavour, work rate, aggression and determination. It was all there to see.”

Sellars and Mark Trueman have a decision to make on who will spearhead the attack. Andy Cook is not allowed to play against his parent club.

Danny Rowe and Clayton Donaldson are competing to fill in for the striker who has scored three in three games. But Lee Novak faces a longer spell out after a minor setback in his recovery from a knee injury.

Sellars said: "Lee's had a little setback and is not going to be available for the next few weeks."