Bradford City boss Graham Alexander has told striker Andy Cook that his side cannot do much more to help him back onto the scoresheet, as reported by the Yorkshire Post.
The Bantams lost 4-2 against Notts County this weekend, extending their winless run in the league to five matches. Cook, who started up top for the Bantams, notched another goalless game, his seventh in eight outings.
Last season, the former Tranmere and Walsall man won the League Two Golden Boot, netting 28 goals, and was also named the division’s Player of the Season. He’s bagged six this season, although that includes a penalty against Walsall and a hattrick at Newport County.
Alexander, who replaced Mark Hughes at Valley Parade, confessed that his side cannot do much more to help Cook regain the former he showed last season.
“That’s the nature of the business,” said the former MK Dons boss. “If you are a goalkeeper, you are there to keep clean sheets, and if you are a striker, you are there to score goals, and Cooky thrives off goals.
“What I would say is that he got into those situations a lot, and we delivered a lot of opportunities for him.
“We cannot do much more, and we got people to support him. We got in some unbelievable positions and created some great chances.”
Bradford struggled against a slick Notts County side, conceding four in a first-half horror show that ended the game as a contest long before the referee ended it for them. They did claw back a sense of respect with two goals in the second period, but defeat saw them slump to 18th in the table, just six points off the bottom two.
Two of their next three matches are against teams in the bottom half, Salford City and Forest Green, and both are games that Alexander will be hoping to see some of the second-half fight carried over into those crucial fixtures.
“What we did show is that if you give them (fans) something and show fight, endeavour and a positive attitude, they will get behind you and that’s what we did in the second half,” he added.
Writer’s View
Cook has scored goals at plenty of clubs in the past – Tranmere, Barrow, Walsall, Grimsby, and Mansfield, to name but a few. Last season, he was a standout performer for the Bantams, but at 33, are his best years behind him?
There seemed to be a hint of frustration in Alexander’s comments, which only increased the pressure on the journeyman striker. However, Bradford’s woes are not about a misfiring forward – they were utterly abysmal in the first half that they’ll want to forget.
Cook might not have got on the scoresheet, but he wasn’t the only one responsible for their awful result. They need to get better, and quickly, if they’re to avoid damaging results against Salford and Forest Green.
Editor In Chief