DEREK Adams may no longer be his manager but he can thank Carlos Mendes Gomes for the assist with his first signing of the January window.

New boy Dion Pereira has revealed that the input of his Luton team-mate was instrumental in clinching the loan deal with City.

Pereira is hoping to make his debut in the weekend’s trip to Carlisle as the Bantams chase a Cumbrian winning double to open 2022.

It is a big opportunity for the 22-year-old – who would love to emulate what Mendes Gomes achieved under Adams at Morecambe.

The Spaniard was the Shrimps’ top scorer in the league with 15 goals last season and scored their promotion-winning penalty in the play-off final at Wembley, earning him a summer move to Championship side Luton.

Adams, of course, left for City within days of clinching promotion but his former player certainly did his bit with the first recruit of the window.

Mendes Gomes acted as the mutual contact as Pereira’s move to Valley Parade came to fruition.

Now the Bantams new boy is looking for a similar boost to his career working alongside Adams for the rest of the season.

He said: “That was a big factor in me coming here speaking to Carlos and seeing his growth as a player under the gaffer at Morecambe.

“Seeing how the gaffer put Carlos in positions he wasn’t in before off the ball, which was allowing him to scorer more goals and create more assists. That’s exactly what the plan is for me.

“I spoke with Carlos about this a lot and we’re very similar players in that side of the game.

“He was on the left cutting in on his right and I’m on the right cutting in on my left, so he gave me a few tips.

“Once I got here, the gaffer told me exactly what could help my game and obviously I’m going to take it on board because he’s experienced and it worked for Carlos.”

Pereira is seen as one for the future by Luton boss Nathan Jones but needs a run of games under his belt.

Given the high stakes City are aiming to play for over the second half of the season, dropping down two divisions is anything but a backward step for him. Doing some initial research proved that.

“I had to take a massive step back when I found out how many fans the club have,” admitted Pereira.

“When people talk about League Two, they don’t think it’s as big as it actually is.

“Coming from America there was on average 10,000 fans so I’ve handled the pressure.

“When I spoke to my agent about coming to Bradford, I was surprised to hear they get 15,000 fans on average.

“But looking at the stadium, I shouldn’t have been. I’ve seen some highlights of the fans on YouTube and it’s amazing.

“If you can’t deal with the spotlight then you’re in the wrong job. Everyone here can tell that Bradford definitely aren’t in the position where they can be.

“To help them back to where they should be is a massive task that I’m ready to tackle head on.”

Adams prefers mid-term loan signings to August ones because they cannot be recalled and will have tunnel vision with their temporary club.

Pereira welcomes the prospect of being able to cut out any outside noise.

“I can focus, do the extra training and the club can look after me properly. If I’m doing too much they can tell me to stay away from the gym, if I’m not doing enough they can push me.

“They will know my limits and what I can and can’t do. They are obviously going to look after me as well as they can.”

The Carlisle trip was the first of the three matches forced off last month because of Covid. But Pereira is happy with the extra workload.

“Seeing all the games that have been cancelled is good, I just can’t wait to get playing.

“I looked at the schedule in February and there’s a two-week period where they are five games.

“The aim is to play the most games and show everyone what you can do.”