“The goal should be…” Benito Carbone issues message on Bradford City’s 2022/23 prospects | OneFootball

Bradford City have won just two of their last eight League Two games and have fallen away from the automatic promotion places and down to eighth position as a result.

At their best, the Bantams have looked as strong as the likes of Carlisle United and Northampton Town this season, but a lack of consistency has given them an uphill task to battle their way back into top three contention.

Bradford have shared back-to-back goalless draws with AFC Wimbledon and Stockport County, both can be viewed as decent points, but following a loss at home to lowly Rochdale, other promotion-chasers have gained ground.

The Bantams are in a stronger position under Mark Hughes than they were with Derek Adams at the helm this time last season, but need to start hitting their straps if they are to achieve promotion.

Former Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Bradford City forward Benito Carbone believes that the Bantams should remain ambitious when he spoke to William Hill.

He said: “Bradford City have a very good project – they want to do something magic and play again in the big leagues, like the Championship or the Premier League, where they used to be.

“It may be tough but I hope Bradford win the league this season, because they’ve been trying to do it for two or three years since being relegated from League One.

“Mark Hughes, as we know, is an important coach that has managed at the likes of Manchester City, so he can be successful at the club.

“For now, the position of the club is not good because they are outside of the play-off positions.

“They need to think about how they’re going to win their next few games, starting with Mansfield on Saturday, so they can finish the season in the top three and in the automatic promotion positions.

“But I think with the players and the coach that they have, the goal should be to win the league – they have to!”

Bradford are the biggest club in League Two, and if a top seven finish does not materialise, the supporter base will begin to lose faith in Hughes, despite the Welshman receiving a great deal more support than Adams did in his time at Valley Parade.

The Verdict

Quiz: Are these 20 Bradford City facts real or fake?

1 of 20

Real or fake: The club was founded over 100 years ago!

The fourth tier is a very unforgiving division, however, while Leyton Orient and Stevenage are still flying high at the top of it, with certainly the latter having a wage bill far smaller than that of the Bantams, it reflects badly on Bradford to be competing where they are in the table.

There has been an over-reliance on Andy Cook in the final third this season, and now the 32-year-old has not found the net in his last seven League Two appearances, it is no surprise to see the Bantams slide down the league.

All five positions behind the top two are up for grabs in the fourth tier, and with 20 games still to play there are plenty of reasons for supporters to keep believing.