Graham Alexander has revealed why Bradford City defender Jack Shepherd was missing from their last match.
The Bantams claimed a major victory in their promotion ambitions by beating Colchester United in front of a bumper crowd at Valley Parade. It put them five points clear of AFC Wimbledon and Port Vale in third and fourth, and with Walsall dropping more points City are now a point behind the league leaders.
Shepherd Concern Revealed
A major talking point after the announcement of the squad was the absence of Barnsley loanee Jack Shepherd, who has been viewed as City’s key defensive player. He has played in 33 of Bradford’s 38 matches in League Two this season. Romoney Crichlow took his place beside Aden Baldwin and Neill Byrne.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post following the victory, Graham Alexander explained why the 24-year-old was absent.
“He didn’t train Tuesday or Wednesday.
“He’s got a sore hip and groin that he’s been managing since October. He has managed to do ok. He trained yesterday, but we had Rom (Crichlow) fully fit and Ciaran (Kelly) coming back in, so there’s no point risking people being out for a month.
“We need everyone, so if there’s players who are managing things and we have good, fit players there we are going to use the squad.”
Bradford will want to keep their advantage over the chasing pack when they travel to Accrington Stanley in the early kickoff next weekend, where they can enter top spot for the first time this season with a win.
Writer’s View
It is concerning yet hopeful news for Bradford City that Jack Shepherd has had a slight issue. It is a real credit to him that he has played with an issue for months and delivered great performances consistently over the time period. With two defenders returning from injury in Romoney Crichlow and Ciaran Kelly returning, it was the perfect time to give him a break ahead of crucial games against Notts County, Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers looming on the horizon. City were dominant against what was League Two’s form team at home, and that will give them bundles of confidence over the next few games after recent shaky results.
