GRAHAM Alexander does not sense any negative vibes creeping in as City prepare for the full glare of Valley Parade again.
Three straight losses have darkened the mood among the fans and his team were booed off at Lincoln.
The pressure has suddenly notched up going into this weekend’s home clash with bogey side Doncaster. But Alexander knows that comes with the territory.
He said: “When's the spotlight not on us? But that's why we love playing and working for Bradford City. Because there's a spotlight, there's a fervour, there's a passion to support the club.
“It’s 24,000 fans and that's why we get a buzz out of it. But there's a price on the ticket, as I always say.
“If it doesn't go right, you're going to get a bit of grief. That's life. It's part of them.”
City were well beaten by the impressive Imps, who could have doubled their 3-0 tally. The Bantams mustered just one shot on target – and have produced only four in the last three games.
But Alexander says that no one is feeling sorry for themselves.
“I just want to see positive body language. I don't want to see anyone looking down at their toes.
“I don't want to see anyone negatively berating their teammates because I know what the long-term process is of taking hits. It's how you handle yourself.
“I thought every player that was on that pitch handled themselves in the right way.
“We didn't turn the game around. We didn't score a goal to give everyone belief.
“But I know what negative body language looks like or negative mindset looks like. That’s what I was looking for and I didn't see any of it.
“I fully expect this group of players to continue what they've been doing all season and trying to do their best.”
Reigning League Two champions Doncaster are still in the bottom four along with Port Vale, who also won promotion.
City have done the best by far of the clubs who went up but are facing a reality check having been in the top six all season.
Alexander added: “We want to beat everyone but for us to expect to beat Cardiff, Huddersfield or Lincoln who have been in this division for six and a half years. That’s the reality of the challenge and I love it.
“When we got promoted, just survival in this division would have been enough for a lot of people. But it doesn't seem that way at the moment.
“That’s the waves of emotion and momentum that go on for a season.
“It’s not about where we are now or where we were 10 games ago. It's about where we are at the end of the season.
“We will know what success looks like at the end of the season, because we didn't really set ourselves any expectations.
“We didn't put a limit on what we could do and we didn't change that at any point.
“We didn't get to Christmas when we were second or third, and then go, ‘right, this is what we expect’.
But then we have to understand, can we make the improvements that we need to go up against clubs that we have just done and compete on an even keel?
“Can we do that in five months? No. But can we try and do it in 90 minutes? That's where the challenge is for us.”
The squad’s training session yesterday began in a blanket of fog – a metaphor the manager used with the current scenario.
“We couldn’t see the other side of the pitch,” he said. “I told a couple of staff, ‘this is us at the minute’.
“We’ve got a bit of fog with doing things that has got us the success we’ve had this season.
“But as we trained, the fog cleared, the sun came out and it was nice and bright. Hopefully that’s a sign of where we’re heading.”
