"I'll get in trouble" - Bradford City boss Graham Alexander fumes over refereeing decisions in dramatic Swindon Town defeat | OneFootball

The Bantams boss wasn't best pleased with the refereeing decisions that went against his side in the nine-goal thriller against Swindon.

Bradford City manager Graham Alexander struggled to hide his frustrations with the refereeing decisions that went against his side, as the Bantams' League Two title hopes took a dent with a dramatic 5-4 defeat away at Swindon Town on Saturday.

Bradford raced to a two-goal lead with just 10 minutes on the clock at The Nigel Eady County Ground, in what was looking like a routine afternoon in prospect for City.

However, the game was flipped on its head on 14 minutes, as Bantams captain Richie Smallwood was shown a straight red card by referee Thomas Kirk after a heavy challenge on Swindon's number nine Paul Glatzel.

Despite going into the break 3-2 up, Ian Holloway's men would complete their comeback thanks to a 95th-minute own goal from Jack Shepherd.

It's a result that sees Bradford drop to second in League Two with four games to play, with the gap to the play-off places and fourth-placed Doncaster Rovers now just two points.

"It's a dead end for me" - Bradford City manager Graham Alexander fumes over refereeing decisions

Speaking via BBC West Yorkshire after witnessing his side drop to a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Swindon, a visibly frustrated Alexander spoke on the key moments in the game that went against his team.

The Bantams boss said: "I've not seen it (Smallwood's red card incident). I'm not talking about stuff like that. It's happened too many times this season.

"It's a dead end road for me. (When asked if red card was a game-changing moment) 100 per cent. We were in complete control, two-nil up. Obviously, I'll look back at it and if there's something we can do better, then we have to do better, but it's not the first red card against us away from home, is it?

"So, was I expecting a different outcome? Probably not." Alexander was then asked if there was anything he could do to see and speak to the officials after the game, to which he replied: "I'm not going to.

"He's made his decision, I can't change it. That's it. I'm not wasting any more time on that...We're going to have to understand what today was, and show what we are and show what we've shown several times over, over the last twelve months, no matter what, or who, is competing against us.

The 53-year-old was then questioned about his thoughts on a possible penalty decision for Bradford that was waved away in the second half, to which he responded: "I'm not talking about referees and decisions.

"It's a dead end road. I'll just get into trouble if we're honest. So if I can't be honest, then I'd rather not talk...I'm finding it hard not to talk about those things because, as I say, It's a dead end street."

Bradford City can't afford to let Swindon Town heartbreak impact League One promotion push

Scoring four goals in a game and still coming out on the losing side will be such a tough pill for Alexander and his Bradford players to swallow.

However, they must not let this crazy afternoon of football derail their automatic promotion push, as with four games to go, a place in League One is still very much in their own hands.

The Bantams will host play-off hopefuls Notts County on 17 April, before taking a trip to play-off chasing Chesterfield on Easter Monday. Then they'll travel to fourth-placed Doncaster in an almighty clash on 26 April, before ending their season at home to Fleetwood Town on 3 May.

"I've told them (the players) that throughout their lives, throughout my lives, people have tried to stop you from getting what is rightfully yours, or what you've earned, or what you're trying to achieve," Alexander continued.

"So nothing has changed. We can see that. Today was a microcosm of all that stuff, so we have to channel it. Which we have done all our careers, all our lives, to achieve our professional status as players, as coaches and managers, and to be working and playing for such a club as this.

"So channel it for the next few games. That's it. Whatever's thrown at us, stand up and be counted. When we're successful at the end, you'll realise all the obstacles we've had to overcome to get that success."