Bradford Park Avenue skipper Simon Baldry has been almost ever-present this season as his troops have dropped around him, so when it was his turn to be wrapped in cotton wool, manager John Deacey had no hesitation.

Former Huddersfield Town winger Baldry was left out of the starting line-up in the last-but-one game. He was restored to the starting XI for last Saturday’s home win but will be missing from the squad altogether tomorrow.

Deacey explained: "When we were up at Durham a fortnight back, Simon was pencilled in on my teamsheet. The lads went out for the pre-match warm-up and Simon didn’t feel quite right.

"It is an artificial surface that Durham play on and it was giving him problems with his ankles. What you have got to understand is that with a player of Simon’s experience, you have to listen when they say something isn’t right.

"I spoke to him after the players had gone through their routine and he said the surface was difficult for him.

"It is a very modern artificial pitch - not like the plastic grass of the old days but it isn’t the same as the real thing.

"It didn’t take long for me to decide that he wasn’t going to be risked. He said he was prepared to play but I told him to leave it and named him on the bench. The last thing we needed was another injured player out for weeks."

It was a calculated call by the Bradford boss - after all it was a game against the division’s bottom club. Despite resting Baldry, who has played right wing, right back and central midfield so far this season, Avenue still managed a 7-0 win.

With a small squad, Deacey has had only 12 fit players on occasions but the results have still kept coming.

Understanding his squad and looking after them has helped Avenue get the best out of the players.

"With a pool of first-team players that is only 16 or 17, you can’t take risks on them doing long-term damage and you can’t overplay them," added Deacey.

"Simon would play all day everyday if you let him, so sometimes you have to make the decision for him. He will be serving a one-match ban for his sending-off at North Ferriby today, so missing two of our last three games should give him that little bit of a break.

"Hopefully that will mean he is ready for the run-in, because we need all the squad ready for what will be a very, very busy period."