LEWIS Richards can appreciate the frustration of the fans after City slumped at Morecambe.

It was not the start Richards had anticipated with his new club after his debut ended in a miserable 3-0 defeat.

The Bantams were booed off by the travelling support and the defender could see where they were coming from.

“The fans weren’t happy at all,” he said. “You can understand that.

“It’s good to have that pressure to win. Pressure’s a good thing, it drives you forward.

“This is a massive club with big expectations.

“When you’re doing well, you know everyone’s behind you. You’ve got to deal with the opposite end when it’s not going so well.

“You feel like you’ve let them down.

“I’m a football fan myself. It ruins your weekends sometimes.

“I support Arsenal and when they lose a game I’m fuming for the rest of the weekend, so I know how it is.”

Richards made a tidy first impression in his 70-minute outing - just a day after he'd made the permanent switch to City from Wolves.

“It was my first game in five weeks, so it was good to be back out there. It’s about finding my feet now.

“It wasn’t a good day at the office. It was a tough game.

“There was no rest period. It was straight at us all the time and very intense.

“I thought we were slow to get going and that makes it hard to get up to speed.

“I thought I was all right but I’d have preferred the game to be very different.”

Richards played 18 games in two loan spells at Harrogate but he missed the second half of last season after rupturing ankle ligaments playing for Wolves under-21s.

“That game against Morecambe was the longest I’ve played since November,” he added.

“Personally, I still don’t feel 100 per cent sharp because I haven’t played for five weeks. But it was a pretty big thing for me, thinking about it.

“I knew I’d be all right but now I feel more confident. I’m happy to have got through the game and the ankle feels good now.

“But I thought I was fouled a couple of times and they didn’t give it. When it’s that blatant, I expect a decision.”

Saturday aside, Richards views his move to Valley Parade as the chance to establish himself in first-team football.

He said: “You can get very stale in the under-21s. You want more opportunity, more options.

“It’s a lot more physical and there’s so much more riding on it. If you lose a 21s game, nobody cares.

 

 

“They are two completely different types of football.

“When we played in the Papa Johns Trophy (for Wolves under-21s), you could always tell the extra physicality. There are not so many tactical issues.

“You just fight for each other. It’s win at all costs.

“The performance doesn’t always matter unless you’re a Man City.

“Nobody cares if you have a bad game and the team win. That’s how football is.”

With no midweek game for the only time this month, Richards intends to use the extra time on the training ground to familiarise himself with those around him.

“It’s a good chance to get to know everyone a bit better, build relationships and get a better understanding of how people play.

“Building relationships with team-mates around me, especially on my side of the pitch, will help in the games.

“I’m looking forward to my first home game and it will most likely be the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of.

“I’d love to get the win and it’s needed."