HAVING been hailed as a warrior' by his manager then it is hardly surprising that skipper Sean O'Hanlon intends to see the battle through to the bitter end however painful that might be.

Ankle and knee niggles have dogged the central defender throughout the campaign but he has made a conscious decision to lead out his troops rather than head for the treatment table.

Bradford City beckons tomorrow and a date with a Mr Schumacher!

Not that O'Hanlon is worried about that.

He points to a teammate with far more speed Jerel Ifil.

He said: "I sprained an ankle against Yeovil right at the start of the season and obviously there isn't a big recovery period between games.

"There's also been a niggle with the knee as well.

"Obviously you can be as sensible as you can but what I'm focused on is getting Swindon Town out of this mess.

"I'll give it my all and once the season's over then I can sit down with Dick Mackey and decide whether rest or the knife is the best course of action."

Tomorrow's clash at Valley Parade gives O'Hanlon the chance to meet up with an old Everton teammate, not that there'll be much time for a trip down memory lane.

He said: "Steve Schumacher was the year behind me at Everton and he also won England youth honours as well.

"He's a battling midfielder who gets from box to box."

Just as well then that Town have someone in the team who's no slouch when it comes to speed.

O'Hanlon said: "We all know about Jerel's pace. He's a great defender.

"If a ball comes over the top then you know Jerel is going to be the first man there.

"He's working hard to improve his game even more and getting a lot of help from Alan Reeves and the coaching staff."

They say you're never too old to learn and O'Hanlon will use tomorrow's match as an opportunity to observe a player who has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, a fine career in the centre of defence.

Bradford skipper David Wetherall has helped pull his team through some troubled times and is still going strong at the heart of the Bantams' back line.

O'Hanlon said: "I suppose in a lot of ways he's a similar build to me.

"He has had a good career so far and played at the highest level so he knows what it's about.

"Still, it's about our players and what we're capable of. There's no reason why we can't come away from Bradford with a result.

"We want to build on the momentum we've generated."