HIS TEAM begin the New Year unbeaten and 14 points clear at the top of the Toolstation League First Division, so Bradford Town manager Paul Shanley has no trouble admitting that his side have shattered all his expectations so far this season.

Bradford have swept aside all comers so far this campaign, hitting a whopping 94 goals and conceding just 19 in 23 unbeaten matches, and already look to have one hand on the title.

Shanley says his players deserve all of the credit for their stellar half-season but has warned that the hard work has to continue at Trowbridge Road if his side are to wrap up their promotion to the top tier of the Toolstation League.

“At the start of the season, I said that I wanted us to be in the top four at Christmas because in previous years, we’ve been playing catch-up and obviously, they’ve gone way beyond that,” said the Bradford boss.

“The players have been fantastic and they deserve the credit for it.

“What we’ve managed to do is bring in a few guys who have already won this league and they’ve just lifted everybody else.

“We’ve also kept 75 per cent of the players from last season, so we’ve got a great group.

“I think it would be very difficult to go unbeaten for the whole season and we’re keeping our feet on the ground.

“People may say ‘Bradford have already won it’ or ‘Bradford are going to do this or that’ but you’ve still got to go out there and win games of football.

“If we carry on doing that, everything will take care of itself.”

Bradford’s goal machine Sam Jordan took his monster tally for the season to 57 goals in all competitions with two goals in his side’s 4-1 victory over county rivals Calne Town last weekend.

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