Bantams boss Stuart McCall is looking for his players to maintain their high standards as they kick off their Sky Bet League Two campaign at the weekend.
City play host to Colchester United on Saturday September 10 (3.00pm), the Utilita Energy Stadium's first competitive match in over six months.
McCall stated that he has been impressed with his tight-knit squad so far, but will not get carried away with long-term ambitions for the season ahead.
He handed out three professional debuts on Tuesday evening against Doncaster Rovers, and has been delighted with the progress of his younger players so far.
“We have a lot of healthy competition in our squad and our young lads are pushing everyone as far as possible,” McCall said.
“We have a group which is capable of playing in a lot of different systems and that is a huge positive for us.
“All the young lads have stepped up so far and the players we have not seen so much last season have all done brilliantly in training.
“We have to look at every different opponent and think about how we can hurt them based on who we pick.
“The squad has no doubts about how we want to go about things.
“We are desperate to get our first league match underway and there is a huge sense of excitement at the club.”
Tomorrow’s visitors finished sixth in Sky Bet League Two last season, losing out to Exeter City in the play-off semi-final.
McCall expects a tough test for the Bantams, but insists his team are more than ready for the challenge ahead - despite no fans in attendance at the Utilita Energy Stadium.
He added: “We have had a really good week of training and we feel as though we are well prepared for Saturday.
“We have done our research on Colchester and we know what to expect.
“I watched their game at Reading last week in the Carabao Cup and they performed really well, despite defeat.
“They have three fast, attacking players up front and I have seen enough of them to know where their main threats are.
“They will be coming to try win the game but we have to just focus on ourselves.
“We know our supporters can make a massive difference to the team and they are our 12th man.
“We are looking forward to the date when fans are allowed back in and Valley Parade is bouncing again.”
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