Tranmere Rovers welcome Bradford City to Prenton Park this weekend, and manager Nigel Adkins is wary of the Bantams’ threats, as reported by the Wirral Globe.
Bradford head to the Wirral after a 2-1 victory over Newport County on Monday that moved the club to ninth in the League Two table. The victory against the Exiles was the first in five league games for Graham Alexander’s men but Adkins is aware of the qualities they bring.
“Bradford get the ball into the box a lot from crosses and you have to deal with the threat,” Adkins told the Wirral Globe. “Andy Cook is a big threat so we’ve worked on that and how we can defend it and helping the centre halves prepare for the game.”
“It will be a good game at the weekend and should be a great atmosphere back at Penton Park – they’re in good form and get the ball forward and we’ve got to deal with it.”
Cook, who had a goal-laden spell at Prenton Park from 2016 to 2018, has already found the net on seven occasions this season, following a 19-goal return last year and a 31-goal season in 2022-23.
The 33-year-old will be the man Rovers will be looking to stop. However, Adkins is also focussing on what his side can offer. The former Southampton manager has only seen his side score five times but he is confident they are doing the right things.
He said, “We’re getting the ball in the right areas of the pitch as good as anybody but we just need to convert a bit more so our focus has been on the type of cross we are doing and can we improve the delivery and can we disrupt the opposition a bit more.”
Adkins is hopeful the return of Josh Hawkes and Sam Taylor will inject something different into his team’s approach. “They’re going to add that bit more pace and Josh is always a threat when he drifts in off the right hand side.”
Writer’s View
Andy Cook is likely the focus in the team talk of everyone who is set to face Bradford City and stopping him will be key to getting a positive result.
The striker has over a third of his team’s league goals this season but will have to work hard to penetrate a home defence who have conceded a goal per game so far this campaign.
