CONOR Sellars has warned City to get a bit more “street-wise” for their Valley Parade showdown with relegation-haunted Grimsby tomorrow.

The Bantams aim to make inroads on the five-point gap to the play-offs when they put their four-month unbeaten home record under Sellars and Mark Trueman to the test against the rock-bottom Mariners.

But Sellars is wary of the dangers of an opponent desperate for the points – and unbeaten in their last eight games.

The joint-boss also wants to clamp down on the number of free-kicks City have been conceding in recent outings by becoming a bit smarter with referees.

They were frustrated with some of the calls given against them in Monday’s draw at Stevenage but Sellars admits the players need to wise up in those situations.

He said: “You look back at all the fouls and some may be a little bit soft. But players have got to recognise when it’s the right moment to intercept, block a pass or make contact on an opponent.

“We can’t control the decisions the referees make. We’ve got to start better but also be a little bit more street-wise to ‘feel’ out the referee and see if he’s one that gives fouls for slight contact or is maybe pretty lenient.

“I just think the refs have got to be strong with what they see and not get interfered with by people shouting and players appealing.

“They’ve got to make sure the decisions are right and sometimes, when there is a foul, maybe let play go on rather than whistling straight away.

“But we can’t hold our frustrations with the referee. It’s hard if decisions are going against you but you’ve got to quickly respond and defend the free-kick or corner that’s been given.”

Grimsby are seven points from safety after three successive 1-1 draws – the latest against Gary Bowyer’s Salford and second-placed Cheltenham.

Sellars added: “They are picking up points, which they need to, and that unbeaten run is showing everyone in the league that they’re not just going to roll over.

“You look at the stats and they are close games.

“They are a team who are hard to beat and we’ve stressed that to the players.

“They’ve got survival to play for and when you play teams at this stage of the season when they’ve still got a chance, you know they’ll be giving everything to the cause.

“We’ve obviously got confidence from the last game after being able to respond from a poor start and going 1-0 down to get the draw.

“We’ll be looking to start better but, again, Grimsby are going to pose us loads of threats. It’s a really hard test and players need to perform.”

Levi Sutton hopes to be back in training early next week but City have reported no fresh injury worries.

Charles Vernam will be pushing for a recall against his former club after a couple of lively appearances from the bench.

Sellars said: “Chas will be raring to go and hopefully he’ll want to put a few past them. But it’s going to be a really difficult game and he understands what’s required.”

Callum Cooke is thought to be about a fortnight away from returning and City are still hopeful that Lee Novak will be fit to feature again before the end of the season.