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 Tuesday . Robins could be first Football League club to win promotion on Saturday . 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 .