NATHAN Thompson would relish the opportunity to come up against former colleagues when Swindon Town visit Bradford City tomorrow, but the right-back isn’t about to afford the likes of Raffa De Vita and Alan Connell any niceties at Valley Parade.

Thompson was in the same Swindon squad as Connell and De Vita during Town’s League Two winning campaign in 2011/12, while the defender also played alongside De Vita as the Robins made the League One play-offs last term, and he could end up marking the pair in this weekend’s clash in Yorkshire.

Although he is looking forward to seeing a couple of familiar faces, Thompson is certainly not about to let personal relationships get in the way of helping his side pick up a valuable three points following defeat at Brentford on Boxing Day.

“I think we all know what they’ve got – friendship and that goes out the window when you step across that line,” he said. “It’s nice to say hello to them but you saw when we played against Alan McCormack and Jonathan Douglas, we’ll greet them but when you get on the pitch it’s about the three points.

“It will be nice to say hello but when you’re over the white line it’s about getting down to work.

“They’re both very good players. I don’t know if Alan Connell will be starting but when he gets an opportunity he’s ruthless in front of goal and Raffa’s technique is incredible and he’s a great players. They’re two good players and we have to be on our guard against them.

“I haven’t spoken to them for a while but it will be nice to see them and catch up with them.”

Thompson was frustrated by the defensive errors which cost Town at Griffin Park on Boxing Day and he knows Swindon will have to be more resolute and ruthless to take anything from the game against one of their rivals for a play-off place.

“They’re a good team, they’re solid and you know what you’re going to get when you go to Bradford,” he said. “They’re the kind of side that is always going to get stuck in and we’ve got to go and match them on that side of the game.

“You saw from the first 10 or 15 minutes against Brentford), when we play our football we’re the best team in this league. We just need to impose that on them throughout the game rather than just playing for the first 10 or 15.

“We need to know when is good and when is time to drop a bit deeper and defend a little bit more resolutely. I felt (at Brentford) silly errors is what cost us.”