Simon Grayson cuts a relieved figure after Bradford claim overdue victory

Simon Grayson described securing his first victory as Bradford boss as “a big relief” after ending their miserable recent form with a 1-0 win over Gillingham.

The Bantams came into the game having picked up just two points from a possible 30 and they had not won in the league since New Year’s Day, but Dominic Poleon’s fine strike after 48 minutes proved to be the difference.

Despite claiming their first win in 11 league matches, Bradford moved up to ninth in the table and sit just four points adrift of the play-off places with a game in hand, and Grayson put no limit on their potential.

“It’s a big relief for everybody,” Grayson said. “The supporters, the players and myself that we got a victory today. If you look at the overall game, the players did what we asked them to do.

“We put our bodies on the line, we chased, we worked, and when you do that sometimes you get the little bit of luck that you maybe have been missing over the last few weeks.

“I think there was a lot of spirit from the club again, the supporters we very good and backed the team and the players were determined.

“There was a spirit about the players that was determined to prove one or two people wrong and that the season isn’t dead and buried.

“Nothing is out of our reach to what we can do and obvious winning has been a big impact on us.”

The Bantams also recorded their first clean sheet since November 25, a statistic which was more remarkable after goalkeeper Colin Doyle played for the Republic of Ireland in Turkey less than 24 hours earlier, an effort hailed by Grayson.

“It was fantastic,” he said. “I think that epitomised us today. It was his sole decision and he was adamant that it was something he was adamant to do.

“So full credit to him, it was a real fantastic, spirited performance.”

Callum Reilly and Scott Wagstaff both went close for Gillingham in the first half with powerful strikes but the hosts went ahead when a neat passing move found Poleon free on the edge of the area and he fired into the bottom corner.

The visitors had several chances at the death to equalise and manager Steve Lovell believes his side’s performance deserved a positive result.

“One word I said in there is ‘frustration’,” he said. “I thought we gave it a good go today. I thought we played well and had a lot of possession and a lot of attempts at goal. We just didn’t finish it off.

“I’m just disappointed because the performance deserved more than what we got. So we have to keep going and keep working.

“The boys have been magnificent and worked ever so hard on what was asked of them. We just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net. That’s just the way it is.”