Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon, on his 100th appearance for the club, made it seven goals each for the season with second-half efforts to see off Reading at Valley Parade.

“It was a really strong performance,” said boss Alexander. “The first half was very tight and Sam (Walker) has made a couple of good saves.

“We just had to keep our discipline in the second half and not get frustrated if there was a loose pass or miss control. Just keep getting on the ball and making things happen and make sure our press is on point to limit the chances.

“I thought the second half was a real performance of control. When we took the lead and then we had more composure and scored the second goal.

“Our control in possession of the ball was excellent. The midfield two really linked the whole team together and outside of that there were some really good performances.”

The Bantams stay second four points off leaders Cardiff, who snatched a last-gasp winner at home to Doncaster.

Alexander could feel an extra impetus about the team after the midweek postponement against Port Vale.

“I could sense a little bit extra percentage of excitement in the changing room before the game. There was a lot of pent-up energy for Tuesday and then ready for today.

“To be fair to Reading, they caused us some problems in the first half with their forward line and we had to tighten up on a couple of opportunities we gave away. It was a really strong 2-0 win.

“It doesn’t matter if teams are at the bottom or the top. They’ve all got good players and good coaching.

“I thought our mentality was really strong. We had to get back to that team that’s difficult to play against and score against and I think we’ve seen that in the last few games.”

Sarcevic and Stephen Humphrys went off with knocks but Alexander expects both to be fine for next week’s trip to Leyton Orient.

“Sarce got a little knock in the first half and then felt it when he stretched for a ball,” he said.

“He was okay to continue to the end but we were 1-0 up and had good players to come on to the pitch anyway. There was no point in taking a risk when we’ve got so many games to play.

“Humps got smashed on the ankle when he tried to go through and he stiffened up within a few minutes.

“I was a bit disappointed we didn’t take him off at the same time. But Humps felt confident he could continue.

“But he had a shot and felt it again.

“I think they will both be okay for the next game. But when we’ve got a bench like we have and can put good players on, it’s not a problem.”

Brad Halliday came in for Josh Neufville to make his first league start of the season. But there was no Andy Cook again despite returning to training this week after illness.

Alexander revealed: “He was close because he trained on Wednesday. But when I watched it back, I thought he was empty physically.

“With him being out for so long, when you’re empty and you’ve been out for so long going into a fast-tempo game, that’s when injuries can happen.

“It’s not just about playing for 20 minutes. We might have to make a sub after two and it’s having the ability to do that.

“He’ll have more training time between now and the next game and then I’ll just have to assess everybody.”