Bradford City's Aussie defender James Meredith is ready to pull off an upset FA Cup opponents Reading.

Meredith moved from Australia to play for Derby as a 16-year-old but was released by the Rams three years later and had to drop down to the Conference to save his career.

Meredith, 26, said: "I was in the country on my own. At one point I was without a club for six months. I was running in a park in Derby every day on my own, like Rocky Balboa.

"I found it really difficult and I was faced with the decision - do I go back home to Australia or do I really give it a good go and try to make something of myself?

"I decided to give it a good go and I ended up going all the way down to the Conference North.

"From there, I've had to work as hard as I can to build my career to get to a notable league to do the best I can for myself."