Bradford boss Graham Alexander has backed the Manchester United youngsterplaceholder image
Bradford boss Graham Alexander has backed the Manchester United youngster | Getty Images
The Man Utd youngster has yet to score for his new club since he joined them in the winter transfer window.
It is safe to say a few eyebrows were raised when Manchester United recalled Ethan Wheatley from his loan at Northampton in the winter window and opted to send him to Bradford instead.
The 20-year-old had been a regular in the Northampton line up all season, so there appeared to be a huge element of risk sending him on loan to a team higher up the League One table, where playing time wasn't so certain. It appeared an even stranger decision when the Bantams also signed fellow strikers Paul Mullin and Kayden Jackson to boost their promotion bid.
Wheatley began his latest loan spell as a substitute but has since worked his way into the starting line up under manager Graham Alexander. He has started in four of his eight matches for the Yorkshire club, though he has yet to find the back of the net.
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The United academy graduate had chances in their 2-0 win over Port Vale in midweek, but cut a frustrated figure as he failed to open his Bradford account. It is not the lack of goals that has frustrated Alexander, quite the opposite. He believes the young striker is being too hard on himself for the chances he has missed and that he must realise there is more to being a forward than just scoring goals.
"There's a lot of young players especially who I feel are beating themselves up at the drop of a hat. And Ethan's got that side to him," Alexander told the Yorkshire Post. “I think when someone got injured, he came over for a drink and was shaking his head. And I just said: 'Don't you dare let me see you shaking your head, because you've missed one chance.’ Just keep getting in there.
"We don't live looking in the past and (think) 'woe is me', it's the next action. You've got another opportunity, just fully commit to it. And I thought he did that. And you could hear the supporters in how much they appreciated what he'd done when he was coming off.”
The Bradford boss added: "Scoring a goal for yourself is success for yourself. Helping a team win consistently is success for your team. And that's what a career is about.
"Ethan's got that side to him. He will score goals throughout his career because he's got the character to do that. But if he ever just relies on his goals and not the rest of his game, then I think he'll be letting himself down because he's got some really good attributes that are very offensive and very hard to play against. I thought he was absolutely unplayable.”
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