Reid rues chance to keep the pace

Robert Molenaar was majestic, foiling Niall Quinn to such a degree that the Sunderland striker was withdrawn with 17 minutes remaining. Fellow centre backs Andy O'Brien and Peter Atherton were also wonderfully defiant.

At the other end, Robbie Blake drove Sunderland to distraction and drew a magnificent save from Thomas Sorensen.

Carbone and Collymore are earning more than £50,000 a week for idling through life at the moment. Rarely can a club have wasted so much money, so quickly.

Jefferies said: 'We've made certain decisions which people found strange but I think they can now see the benefits of them. We need that type of team performance to give ourselves a chance of staying up. We might not get out of it but we need to give ourselves a chance of doing so. If we can get a couple of victories at home we can put pressure on the others.'

If Bradford can put together a sequence of performances cut from the same cloth as yesterday's, they will win more games than they lose. Whether that will be enough to keep them up will only emerge in four months' time.

Sunderland, whose last home defeat was to Bradford more than nine months ago, still lack the creative edge needed to engineer a goal against teams who pack their defence.

The hosts' work-rate was matched by the Bantams, who more than punched their weight during a match that must have been particularly painful viewing for England coach Sven Goran Eriksson.

Dean Windass lodged a contender for miss of the season in the 53rd minute, hitting the side-netting from 12 yards after Sunderland's defence had been sliced open by Stuart McCall and Blake.

Three minutes later, Blake's fierce drive was athletically tipped on to the crossbar by Sorensen and as the Wearside natives grew restless, so Bradford grew in confidence.

Sunderland remain in second place, 13 points behind Manchester United, but their second goalless draw at home in succession will be a source of frustration for manager Peter Reid.

It was always a forlorn hope that Sunderland might be able to pick up the title- chasing baton that so many of their more heralded Premiership rivals have casually discarded this season.

As United appeared to march inexorably towards what would be their seventh Championship in nine seasons, the belief that Sunder-land could mount a genuine challenge to Old Trafford's dominance was founded on hope rather than expectation.

Sunderland have made huge strides in the last 18 months and it is often difficult to reconcile their position in the table with their status as a second-year Premiership club.

But Reid, who still refuses to countenance talk of Europe, was grateful that his side had drawn a game that could have ended a home record that has not seen them lose in 16 games since Easter Monday.

The Sunderland manager said: 'I'm happy with the point because they had a great chance and my keeper made an outstanding save.

'They did a great job on us and we didn't have enough craft or guile to break them down. There was a lot of huff and puff but they had the better chances.'

For Bradford, eight days of inactivity lie ahead after their exit from the FA Cup. It is a chance for Jefferies to do more work on the training ground, to emphasise the principles that have already found a receptive audience in his squad.

Sunderland, meanwhile, will stick to the same methods that have proved so successful in the last two-and-a-half years. United visit the Stadium of Light on the last day of January.

After the draws with Bradford and Crystal Palace, that game promises to be a defining point in their season.