Coventry striker Noel Whelan hammered out a 'come and get me' message to potential buyers as he finally ended his Premiership goal drought in a four-star show by the Sky Blues.

The transfer-listed striker recently rejected a new contract by Coventry, forcing manager Gordon Strachan to put him up for sale.

With Whelan looking for a move, he proved he is still worthy of a place in the top flight by making the opener, before then scoring his first goal in the Premier League since May 1 as Coventry equalled their biggest win of the season, having beaten Watford by the same score at the end of October.

Coventry's comfortable victory ensures there is now daylight between themselves and the relegation-haunted pack, with just one more win needed from their final eight games to ensure they avoid the drop.

Bradford's fears of an immediate return to the First Division are becoming more apparent as they have now been in the bottom three since the turn of the year.

For boss Paul Jewell, it's his side's appalling away record which is eroding away their hopes of survival as they have not won on the road in the Premiership since the end of September - and that was courtesy of an own goal at Derby.

Bradford have now lost nine and drawn one of their last 10 games away from Valley Parade, with their visit to Highfield Road all over bar the shouting by the midway point of the first half as a dominant Coventry had taken a 2-0 lead.

Bradford were in disarray as Strachan's side cut their way through a sorry Bantams defence, which does not bode well for the Yorkshire club for the remainder of the season.

Just seven days ago Jewell spoke of his pride at the way his players had performed with passion and spirit in the derby defeat to Leeds at Valley Parade.

On this occasion, he must have felt pig-sick at the way his team folded against a Sky Blues outfit missing seven regular first team players through injury.

If the likes of Robbie Keane and Carlton Palmer had been on the pitch then Bradford could have been further embarrassed as Coventry played a cut and thrust game throughout.

Bradford seemed to lose the plot at the back as they failed to pick up the runners, they failed to spot the through ball - all in all they just failed.

It took just seven minutes for Coventry to find the net as John Eustace's persistence picked out a wide-open Noel Whelan with acres of space just inside the 18-yard box.

His shot was on target and although Aidan Davison just managed to get his fingertips to the ball, Cedric Roussel was on hand to stab home his ninth goal of the season from close range.

Whelan was proving a thorn in Bradford's side as he then fired into the sidenetting after being gifted more space before finally adding the second in the 21st minute.

Eustace had already forced Davison, signed on a permanent three-and-a-half year deal this week from Sheffield United, into a flying save before the Northern Ireland international had to pick the ball out of his net again.

Moroccan star Mustapha Hadji did the hard work by chasing a lost cause as he hooked a ball back into play which Gunnar Halle was prepared to let go into touch.

Whelan was the grateful recipient of Hadji's enterprise as he was again left with time and space to pick his shot from 18 yards, and with Davison rooted, he found the bottom right-hand corner for only his third goal this season.

Back-tracking Bradford had to wait until the 28th minute for their first chance when Dean Windass met Andy O'Brien's centre with a flying header which was a yard wide of the left-hand post.

Windass then went close with a 25-yard free kick shortly after, and although the Bantams found some impetus after the break, Magnus Hedman didn't make his first - and only - save until just before the hour.

It was a moment of controversy as Richard Shaw was lucky not have been dismissed as he hauled back Dean Saunders on the edge of the area, but Lodge only issued a yellow card.

From the free-kick the former Welsh international drilled his shot under a jumping wall, with Hedman just managing to stop the ball on the line.

After Windass had then struck the top of the bar with a snap shot eight minutes from time, Coventry then added two more - and it should have been three.

Lee Sharpe, having come on as substitute just minutes before and operating at left back, felled Peruvian international Ysrael Zuniga, allowing Eustace to beat Davison with the penalty for his first league goal for the club.

Zuniga then added a fourth just a minute later with his first goal for Coventry since his £800,000 arrival from Melgar earlier this month with a stunning volley after he had already twice been thwarted from close range.

In injury time McCall then turned a low Eustace ball into his net, but the officials felt it was Zuniga who had scored, with the 'goal' ruled out for offside - Bradford avoiding what would have been their worst defeat of the season.

It still equalled the 4-0 loss they suffered at home to Sunderland in October, and now there's only the small matter of Manchester United next week.

Teams

Coventry: Hedman, Gustafsson, Shaw, Hendry, Quinn, Chippo, Eustace, McAllister (Telfer 46), Hadji, Whelan, Roussel (Zuniga 77).

Subs Not Used: Ogrizovic, Breen, Normann.

Booked: Quinn, Shaw.

Goals: Roussel 7, Whelan 21, Eustace 85, Zuniga 86.

Bradford: Davison, Jacobs (Sharpe 75), O'Brien, Wetherall, Halle (Blake 46), Beagrie, Whalley (Cadete 30), McCall, Lawrence, Saunders, Windass.

Subs Not Used: Dreyer, Taylor.

Booked: Saunders.

Att: 19,201

Ref: S Lodge (Barnsley).