CITY signed up a whole new fanbase when Mark Hughes made Harry Lewis one of his first summer recruits.
The goalkeeper’s growing bond with the Bantams is very much a family affair.
Lewis is quickly becoming a popular figure among the fans – and the club are having just as strong an impact on his nearest and dearest.
They make the regular two-hour trek from the family home in Shrewsbury to come and support, while his brother travels across from Manchester.
“I can’t get them away from the games!” laughed Lewis. “They’ve been home and away, they’ve got the home shirt on, they get rowdy in the players’ lounge.
“Hartlepool was the first game my brother has missed. Mum has been to every home game, my girlfriend’s friends were here on Tuesday.
“Everybody wants to come and be part of it and that’s great.
“The last seven years I’ve not necessarily been playing loads of football and people are so keen to be involved with it. I want to share this with as many as I can.
“It works both ways. I feel I’ve been welcomed well by fans, everywhere I go people say ‘hi’ and smile.
“It’s been quite easy to settle in because everyone has made me feel right at home.
“I’m a positive guy and feel really happy at the moment. This is probably the happiest I’ve been.”
Lewis had yet to play a league game in England when Hughes took him from former club Southampton. But the City boss believes the 24-year-old is confidently making the shirt his own.
Hughes said: “Harry is growing in stature every game he plays. He’s really enjoying being a number one.
“I think you’ll see his qualities start to show and his influence on the team as well. That’s going to improve as the season goes on.”
Lewis admits he is relishing the added responsibility of being the first-choice keeper – something he had only experienced once before at the start of his career on loan at Dundee United.
“Being the number one isn’t something I’ve necessarily been before and I’m really embracing the challenge,” he added. “I want to play every single game.
“There’s the Papa Johns (Trophy) next week and I want to play that. Every league game, I want to be there.
“I want to come to the end of season having played 50-60 games and been part of a successful year for this football club.
“I hope that it’s translating how happy I am. I feel like I’m playing with a smile on my face.
“I’m enjoying being part of this club.
“Whether I’ve been good, bad or indifferent in these few games, I hope the fans can see I’m a guy who understands what it means to represent this club and this city.”
Lewis was frustrated with Tuesday’s Carabao Cup exit to Blackburn despite a man-of-the-match display. He felt he should have done more with the second goal.
“That’s just me being brutally honest. I’m tough on myself but that’s where I want to be.
“But we put the cup to one side now, take the lessons we’ve learned and now we can focus on the league on Saturday.
“Our main priority is shoring up our league form because we’ve been a little bit short of where we want to be. That’s become our full focus.”
Lewis will sit down today with Colin Doyle and the club’s analysts to take a closer look at his midweek performance. He appreciates the Irishman’s input to provide an independent set of eyes as the keeper coach.
“We’ve got some great analysts and some good guys who will sit down and go over the game, the good parts and the bad bits.
“Doyler and I are really keen on watching my clips back. He’s been a fantastic coach and will pick out bits of my game that I’m not always seeing.
“We both think the same. If a goal’s gone in, not that it’s my fault, but I always think that I could have done this or that different.
“That’s just the way I work. I want to get better every day.
“With Doyler in my corner, I really believe that’s the way from a personal level. I’m building every game.”
Lewis was not in the best frame of mind as he returned to the dressing room at half-time after conceding twice. But Doyle was there to have a quiet word and calm him down.
“I can be quite emotional so it’s nice to have Doyler on the side,” he admitted.
“He talks me through things and then we’ll really analyse it today with Glyn (Hodges) and the gaffer. That’s when we really come to a decision on what went wrong.
“If a goal’s gone in, something’s gone wrong somewhere along the line.
“Everybody can look at any goal that’s gone in this season and thought, ‘what if I’d done this?’
“That’s how we need to be. If I had my way we’d keep clean sheets every day of the season and that would be amazing.
“Goals are going to go in, I’ve got to accept that. But it’s about making sure that as few as possible do.”
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