Phil Parkinson reckons City’s win at second-placed Southend will make the rest of the division sit up and take notice.

Luke Oliver’s scrambled late goal earned their first away victory of the season and gave the Bantams a crucial three-point cushion on the bottom two.

After back-to-back draws at Swindon and Gillingham, Parkinson’s battlers last night bagged a third straight clean sheet on the road.

And the delighted boss said: “We’ve been playing well on our travels for weeks but we just didn’t get that all-important goal.

“The manner of the performance was excellent. We stuck to our jobs and were professional and disciplined with a sprinkling of quality.

“People will have looked at this fixture and wondered how we would get on. Nobody would have fancied us apart from ourselves.

“Steve (Parkin) and I saw Southend on Tuesday and they’re a good side. But we told the lads the points they needed to do and I was very confident that if we followed them we could win the game.

“I genuinely believe we have got the players to win football matches. It was the same at Gillingham.”

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