'He's still recovering': Bradford City boss won't say whether lifelong Newcastle United supporter will face his boyhood heroes on Wednesday
Bradford City take on Newcastle United at St James' Park on Wednesday night in the third round of the Carabao Cup, live on Sky Sports with a 7:45pm Kick-off.
Newcastle have been handed an 'easy' tie to kick off their defence of the Carabao Cup, drawing League One opposition at home.
However, no game is really easy, and Bradford are top of League One and have knocked out two Championship sides to get to this stage of the tournament.
Bradford manager Graham Alexander has a score to settle with Eddie Howe, too and will be hoping to take advantage of the Magpies' inability to score goals.
Andy Cook has dreamt of playing at St James' Park
One man who will be hoping he can score on the hallowed turf of St James' Park is 34-year-old lifelong Newcastle United fan Andy Cook, who plays as a striker for Bradford.
When the draw was made, Cook was nursing an injury, and he said the first thing he did was text the physio to say that he would be fit to play against Newcastle.
Cook is back in the squad for Bradford, but as for whether he'll be fit enough to start against Newcastle remains to be seen, with Alexander being quite guarded on the subject.
Graham Alexander won't be ruled by sentimentality
Speaking to the media ahead of the game (via The Yorkshire Post), Alexander says he's going to rule with his head over his heart when making the call, as he was asked if he'd noticed a change in Cook's demeanour on the training pitch heading up to the game.
"I haven’t noticed anything. Cooky’s as mad as he always is, he’s loud and bubbly around the place. I haven’t seen a difference in his demeanour on the training pitch. He’s trained as well as he always does.
"He’s still recovering from the injury that he suffered in January, but he’s going to be part of the squad.
"I know how much his support for Newcastle means. But the game’s about two teams, not individuals, and I think Cooky is well aware of that as well. I don’t think he wants it to be about him. He wants to be part of a team that goes to his boyhood club.
As we said before, we won't begrudge Cook a goal at the Gallowgate as long as it's nothing more than a consolation. But the way Newcastle have been in front of goal lately, we're not sure we can afford to allow him to live his dream.
