GRAHAM Alexander is demanding to see what City are made of as they try to take another big step towards Wembley.

Victory over Doncaster at Valley Parade tonight would put them just one game away from the Bristol Street Motors Trophy final.

It would also help to build some bridges after the slump in league form that has seen them drop to 18th.

The home fixture against the last team they beat in League Two before Christmas represents a huge chance to keep City’s season going as the mood darkens around the club.

Alexander can understand the frustration that is building among supporters.

“This is where we show our strength of character as a club and I include everybody in that,” he said.

“I’ve said many times that I’m not a person who gets up the next day and feels down about the past.

“I want to impact our future and we need the supporters to help us do that.

“We have to give them a lot better than we have in the last two games to believe.

“They will always give us their support but we want them to go beyond that and believe in us as a group of men to get the results they so desperately want for the club.”

Alexander will make changes after Saturday’s awful display at Swindon. Two are enforced with Richie Smallwood suspended and keeper Sam Walker cup-tied having played in the Trophy for Charlton.

The Bantams chief added: “The game would have been just as important if we had won 2-0 (at the weekend).

“It’s a game where we have to compete hard to win. We’ll have support there and we never want to let them down.

“We let them down on Saturday. They came down in numbers again and gave us great support and we were nowhere near the level they expect – or we do.

“I would hope there are no players thinking that was anywhere near good enough. I don’t think there is.

“This is the next opportunity to feel good about ourselves. We know where we have to improve.

“We didn’t go overboard after the game because I know the players were hurting.

“I know they are a good bunch of players but we just need to help each other improve this run of form.”

City’s victory at Derby in the last round earlier this month remains their only one since beating Doncaster 3-1 on December 22 – which was their sixth win on the bounce at that time.

It has been a sudden slump that has deflated the mood among the fans – with many expected to stay away tonight.

Alexander knows that morale needs to be restored quickly after two particularly flat performances.

“When you come into a job and the club are where they are in the league, you have to go, ‘right, where are the issues?’

“We had those in the first game and a half and then we went on a six-game winning run. You think we’re making progress but we knew it wasn’t complete.

“What we’re trying to do is find that extra improvement we had to make in those games without losing our other side. I feel we’ve lost the other side a little bit in the past two games.

“This is the balance with football. You want to improve without losing what you’ve been good at.

“We haven’t been good enough at what we’ve been strong at in the last two first halves and given ourselves too much to do to get the results we wanted.”