DEREK Adams expects City’s new boys to hit the ground running in front of the travelling army at Rochdale.

Matty Daly and Dion Pereira are both set to be involved in the squad for the first time as the Bantams chase a third win in four since their Covid break.

Jamie Walker set the bar high for the January recruits with an eye-catching debut against Salford and Adams, who is closing on another signing and has been linked with a move for a keeper, is confident the other new arrivals can follow the Scotsman's lead.

He said: “They saw how well Jamie has done and will take that on board. They are all ready to go if selected this weekend.

“Dion comes in and gives us something different from the rest of the players and Matty is an extremely bright character on the pitch.

“I’ve done it many times in the past in the January period where we change around players and take in others because we see the deficiencies in the squad in the first half of the season and try to rectify them.

“That’s why we’ve added these players and they are all ready to hit the ground running.

“When you do come to a new football club, you want to start right away. Like Jamie Walker last week coming in and getting his first start was really important not just for himself but the team.

“I have seen an edge in training this week. We’ve got players now that are unsure if they are going to start on a Saturday.

“When you get to that stage, you know that you’re building a good squad.”

City have sold over 2,500 tickets for their shortest trip of the season and Adams hopes to send the fans home happy.

“We all want to take a large travelling support with us and we’re certainly doing that.

“We’re in a position where we’re chasing the teams that are ahead of us. It’s not a bad position to be in.

“We would always like to have the points on the board but teams above you get nervous when you’re chasing.

“If you keep on winning games and they start to lose or draw then it’s certainly not a nice place to be.”