DAVID Hopkin reckons City’s Christmas party has provided a timely festive fillip for this crucial month.

The FA Cup second-round replay with Peterborough tonight is the first of three home games on the bounce in a run that could shape the rest of the season.

But the Bantams boss can sense a growing togetherness among the squad following their team-bonding bash.

The players went to Winterwonderland in Hyde Park in London nine days ago after the first clash with Posh. Hopkin has already noticed a difference in the buzz around a dressing room that has taken time to grow close after so many changes.

He said: “The club had a plan in the summer what it wanted to try and do.

“If it works, it’s like genius. If it doesn’t, you end up where we are in the league.

“You had 20 new players coming together and it’s strange from my perspective that you’ve got a lot who live in different areas and travel for two or three hours.

“In Scotland, everybody was within 20 minutes of each other so that camaraderie was easier to create.

“The boys haven’t really gelled. They haven’t any nights out or golf days since I’ve been here, so I thought it was important and I can feel the difference.

“A lot of people see Christmas nights out as a distraction but for us it was a bonding session.

“They go out and maybe people who didn’t speak to each other have a laugh or a joke and they come back all bouncing into training.

“It’s carried on and, even on the bus coming back from Plymouth, you’re starting to see people talking to each other who maybe didn’t before.

“You can’t force that. Any club that I’ve ever been at or managed, that’s the thing that happens. I can sense they’re beginning to get a bond together.”

Hopkin may sense his team getting closer but it is unlikely that bond will extend between the two managers on the Valley Parade touchline.

After two draws at Peterborough, the City chief may be getting under the skin of opposite number Steve Evans.

“I don’t think I’m the only one,” added Hopkin. “Steve and his assistant (Paul Raynor) are passionate and they want to win games.

“Sometimes a lot of coaching staff will laugh and joke but Steve’s like a pantomime villain. You either love him or hate him.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I like the way he goes. But sometimes he does take things to the edge.

“You don’t become successful being a nice manager and he’s always had good teams. They are fit and organised and dangerous scoring goals.”

Hopkin was part of the Chelsea squad that were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester United in the FA Cup final in 1994. He was not involved because of a rule restricting the number of non-English players allowed to play.

But as City eye a potential trip to Middlesbrough in round three, he has seen the positive impact that a cup run can have on a relegation battle.

He said: “I think the game was over in 20 minutes but it was a fantastic achievement for Chelsea at the time to get there. We were struggling in the bottom three most of the season.

“That cup run kept us up and got us away from where we were, so sometimes you can take great belief from it.

“Everybody wants to go as far as they can and, financially, if we get through this tie, it’s a bigger pot of money for the club.

“We’re in good spirits. The mind set has changed when we play against better teams in the league.”