Bristol City will become the first Football League club to win promotion this season should they beat Bradford on Tuesday night. The League One leaders managed to come away from second-placed Preston North End unscathed, drawing 1-1 thanks to Aaron Wilbraham’s equaliser after Jermaine Beckford had opened the scoring just before the hour. Regardless, Steve Cotterill’s side had been destined not to seal promotion at Deepdale because results elsewhere didn’t go their way. Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill was happy to avoid defeat against Preston on Saturday . Three points at Bradford on Tuesday will do the trick. It would take something to go seriously awry for the Robins not to be returning to the second tier after a two-year absence, and they did their job well enough to prevent any late scares in the north west. ‘That’ll be good,’ Cotterill said. ‘We’ll digest that and try and prepare properly for the game. ‘It was important not to get beat here. If you look at it, if we had and then got nothing at Bradford (on Tuesday) then we’re stuck on 88 points. Preston would’ve gone to 83 points today and then have Gillingham at home. ‘You always look at the worst case scenario.’ Bristol City’s elevation to the second tier appears a formality, and Preston remain in pole position to join them. Nevertheless, manager Simon Grayson has warned his players not to get carried away. ‘We’ve said to the players we can only influence our own games, but it’s another point to our tally and another game chalked off,’ he said. ‘But there will be no complacency from the team, we know we have to keep working.’ Cotterill, meanwhile, has always gunned for the League One title rather than just promotion and this result preserved their eight-point lead over Preston, although they have played a game more. His squad are staying in a nearby hotel until the trip to Valley Parade and will train at Burnley in preparation.
Bristol City held second-place Preston to 1-1 draw at Deepdale on Saturday.
Robins could be first Football League club to win promotion on Tuesday.
Steve Cotterill's side face Bradford at Valley Parade and win will be enough.
City boss Cotterill was happy to avoid defeat against Preston after admitting he had thought about the worst case scenario.