Parkinson praise for Bradford

Phil Parkinson praised the professionalism of his Bradford side after watching them ease their way to a 2-0 victory at Leyton Orient.

The Bantams who have enjoyed FA Cup success this season to book their place in the last eight of the competition are also in the thick of the race for promotion. Their victory in London, inspired by two goals in 11 first-half minutes, leaves them just one point and one place outside the play-off positions. Although the struggling O's produced an improved display after the break, they could not break down a resilient City outfit who might have added to their two-goal cushion when Billy Clarke and substitute Francois Zoko were denied by outstanding close-range saves by keeper Alex Cisak. "That was a thoroughly professional away performance from us tonight," said Bantams boss Parkinson. "It was a tough place to come and against a team with renewed spirit after their win at Chesterfield on Saturday. "I watched them there and they played really well and I told my lads before the game to be ready to face a team who were flying high at the top last season and have not lost too many players. They have got quality although they've had a disrupted season with managers changing. "But we were magnificent tonight, we did the right things in the right areas of the pitch. We always looked likely to score and we put our bodies on the line to protect our goal when we had to. "The first goal by James Hanson was brilliant, people underestimate how good he is with his feet and it was a terrific strike from him. Hanson and Andrew Davies had to go off at half-time with tight hamstrings and Parkinson added: "The fact that we had to take two key players off and had to re-group and still put in the level of performance we did is of enormous credit to the lads, including the lads that came on. "Although we will probably pick up an injury or two, we've got a squad more than capable of dealing with that and with the money we've got from the cup run, we might be able to add to it." Despite the defeat which leaves Orient in the bottom four, manager Fabio Liverani had no complaints about the attitude of his team. "There are times during a season when you can be angry with the performance of the team but tonight was not one of those occasions," he said. "I am pleased with the performance, it's just that we need to score a goal. "We created a few chances, Dean Cox and Chris Dagnall had shots stopped on the line. In the first half, we hit the crossbar and then straight after, they scored the goals. So that was not a very lucky moment for us." "I still believe that we can get out of the position we find ourselves in the table, there are a number of teams that are close to each other, so I believe we can make it. "The good thing is that we play again in three days and so we always have the chance of turning the season around - hopefully that will start on Saturday. "I am doing my job to my best and I'm not worried about my position. I have to say that when I arrived here, our position in the league table wasn't that much better and at the first training session, I had 15 injured players. Hopefully, we are getting back on the right track. "I believe that I still have the full support of the president, although you will have to ask him that. "