Manager Mark Hughes praised his brilliant Bradford side after they beat Sutton 2-0 to move within touching distance of League Two’s top three.

Prolific Andy Cook opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season before Scott Banks’ brilliance got the second at Gander Green Lane.

The Bantams are two points off the automatic promotion places and the former Manchester City boss said: “You have to step up and match the challenge they set for you and I thought we did that really well.

“It was two great pieces of quality to take the game away from them.

“We were really resolute, that’s credit to us to stop balls going into our box.

“We were the team that were trying to play but they don’t allow you to close them down because they put the ball into areas and chase it down.

“It was really important to show our personality again after having 10 men on Tuesday night.”

Hughes, a Manchester United favourite during his playing days, reserved special praise for Scottish starlet Banks — who is on loan from Premier League side Crystal Palace.

He added: “We see it in training day in and day out, he produces those moments all the time.

“He’s got great delivery and great execution when he gets into those positions.

“When he cuts in you always sense he’s going to test the keeper. It was perfect positioning and you always fancied he was going to convert the chance he created himself.

“That’s the quality he gives us.”

Wasteful Sutton suffered a sixth league defeat in nine and have only picked up a paltry five points in two months.

But boss Matt Gray said: “I thought we were excellent in the first half. We really made it difficult for them.

“I’m really disappointed that once again we haven’t been ruthless enough and taken one of the many chances we had.

“We should have taken the lead with several chances to get that first goal.

“Suddenly we’re punished for one mistake and we’re walking down the tunnel a goal behind and that was very harsh I felt.

“For me they were the favourites to win the league at the start of the season and that quality showed in the second goal.

“It’s a fact not an excuse about the amount of long-term injuries we’ve got. I’ve never known anything like it. But I can’t do anything about that.

“We haven’t got a result and that’s disappointing. We’ll be working hard to put that right next Saturday.”