SILSDEN boss Danny Forrest has backed close friend and interim City manager Mark Trueman, saying the man currently in the Bantams dugout is one of the hardest working people he knows.

Trueman is unbeaten in five games since taking charge alongside Conor Sellars, but that has come as no surprise to Forrest, who has managed the former Silsden midfielder in the past.

The Cobbydalers boss, who used to play for City as a youngster, said: “On a personal level, I’m really proud of him.

“I’ve known Mark for a long time and followed his journey at City from the youth team.

“When he got the (first team) role he wasn’t well known, but it’s no surprise to me to see how well he’s doing.

“He’s got the ability to improve individuals and set teams up, and he’s one of the hardest working people I know.

“He constantly thinks about football and he has a great mind.

“I’ve always felt he can go right to the top, but he’ll certainly be happy with what he’s doing now.

“Even for me, it’s inspiring, and it’s great to see a young coach doing so well.”

One of the big reasons for City’s success under Trueman and Sellars has been a switch from a back three to a back four.

And Forrest is not afraid to change things up either, admitting his Silsden side have had to adapt after losing a couple of key players.

He said: “We’ve changed shape a bit over the last few weeks after losing (attacking midfielder) Leon Hurles-Brook to Silsden and (striker) Khurram Shazad to Albion.

“They were two of our flair players, so we’ve not got as much of that any more, but we’ve still got goals and an attacking presence up there.

“We’ve had to adjust to ensure we do more as a team, rather than relying on individuals.

“We’ve worked on our build up play and creating more good chances, as in the past, Khurram, Leon and Antony Brown (who has joined Mossley) were capable of digging us out of a hole if we needed, whereas we don’t have them now.

“But we’ve still got Chris Wademan up front, who can score goals, as can our two new strikers, Mark Simpson and Craig Billington.

“I’d say we’re more of a unit now than we were a few months ago.”