Jefferies denies McCall rift

Bradford manager Jim Jefferies says he left captain Stuart McCall out of Sunday's side that faced Manchester City for "football reasons".

Jefferies dismissed speculation that the pair had been involved in a training ground argument.

Bradford lost 3-1 to City and Jefferies said: "Stuart had a bug and missed some training. I thought he was due a rest anyway.

"I wasn't going to come here with someone I thought might struggle with the pace of the game.

"He'd play with a broken leg, but you can't play with a broken leg, and I have to make those decisions.

"There has been no bust-up as far as I am concerned. It was purely a football decision and if there is a problem, it's not mine.

"We didn't lose the game because of Stuart. We lost the game because we didn't defend well at set plays."