Mark Bower ahead of Wycombe

As a central part of a Bradford City defence that have slid down the footballing hierarchy Mark Bower's reaction to the defensive horrorshow last week is to hope that it was a one-off (he's not alone).

Speaking in his regular column for the Telegraph and Argus, the central defender (who has been playing himself back into form over this season) spoke about the Jekyll and Hyde approach to defending that has been seen from the boys in claret and amber in the last two matches.

'We were poor at the back last week and made mistakes, although you have to give credit to Hereford for punishing us. But there is no need to panic and get carried away because of one disappointing result. If you look back over the three games previous to that, we've conceded three times - one that never crossed the line, one freak own goal and a wonder free-kick.'

His point is an accurate one but he fails to mention Peterborough's profligacy infront of goal that was ultimately to blame for their returning to the south without any points.

Bower continued 'we were all very disappointed about last week and nobody is taking it lightly but it should be put into perspective. Maybe it's a good thing in a way when a game like that happens because it refocuses everyone and highlights the fact that if you do make mistakes you will suffer, no matter who you're playing.' I'm not sure really whether professional athletes ought to be able to get away with this as an excuse - that it's good to lose because it refocuses the mind. Two wins on the bounce was hardly cause to get carried away but so long as they're focused tomorrow I think we won't really care about the Nightmare on Edgar Street.

'Losing like that feels horrible and the long trip home from Hereford really dragged. But that only makes you doubly determined to make sure it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately we've not been picking up many points in our away games so far and that's putting pressure on us to perform at home. Our form here has been good and we need that to continue. As I keep saying, the superb support gives us a real advantage over the opposition and hopefully we can press that home over the next two games against Wycombe and Accrington. Wycombe had a great cup run last season and have been there or thereabouts in the league in recent seasons. So again we are expecting a difficult match.'

Indeed, tomorrow's game (that I may sadly be unable to make) is not going to be easy as Wycombe have enjoyed a very similar start to the season as us but have so far fared better against some of the sides we've played - drawing with Shrewsbury and beating Macclesfield for example. Mark Bower also point to the fact that 'they've also got Jermaine Easter, who is one of the top strikers at this level and scored against Chelsea last year. He will have to be carefully watched.' Although Wycombe based sources suggest that Easter is in a bit of a sulk after seeing his move to Plymouth scuppered before the transfer window closed. Of course there are also those Bantam fans that wanted to see Easter in claret and amber...so if he plays well tomorrow expect there to be calls of 'I told you so' :).

In summing up Bower said 'the best way to get rid of last week's disappointment is to produce a professional performance which is good enough to win the three points. Hopefully we can combine the way we defended against Peterborough with our attacking efforts at Hereford and then we'll be fine.