They are building and building at Valley Parade. Filling in corners, they will have turned this craggy stadium on the slope of a Bradford valley into a handsome football bowl when they finish. Who will fill it is the next question.

Because, just as they are constructing the bricks and mortar, the dominant theme at Bradford City is one of deconstruction. Dan Petrescu went to Southampton yesterday, they will listen to offers for others such as Dean Windass and Matt Clarke and the club will be happy the moment anyone takes Stan Collymore or Benito Carbone off their hands. And off the pay roll.

Meanwhile, the fans stay away in their thousands. Gone is the novelty and excitement of 1999's promotion and 2000's Premiership survival, both lastday affairs. Only 7,303 turned up to see Monday's FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough. Faith seems to have departed, too, the grind of being bottom of the league week after week has had a gradual, corrosive effect.

"But it's the old story," said Andy O'Brien perkily when discussing the depressing scenario, "we've got Man United on Saturday."

The tone was out of keeping with the seriousness of Bradford City's situation. But then to an extent O'Brien's personal situation is out of kilter with the club's. He may be only 21 but he has played almost 150 senior games for Bradford over the past four years and is entitled, even at a young age, to be called one of the foundations of City's rise. His colleagues certainly value O'Brien: he was Bradford Players' Player of the Year last season.

Thus, while Bradford stare nervously at the teams immediately above and below them, O'Brien's future looks a good deal more secure. If Bradford do go down, O'Brien is one of those likely to be cherry-picked by a Premiership club.

Peter Taylor at Leicester City for one is well aware of O'Brien's ability. When Taylor was asked to select a Football League side to face one from Serie B two seasons ago, the future temporary England manager chose O'Brien as one of his centre-halves - O'Brien being voted Man of the Match in Italy.

Shortly after that in his capacity as England under-21 manager, Taylor selected O'Brien to play France in a friendly at Pride Park. In a team containing Richard Wright, Frank Lampard, Seth Johnson, Lee Bowyer, James Beattie and Matt Jansen, O'Brien again starred as he marked a fast striker called Thierry Henry.

Not long after that O'Brien made one of the biggest decisions of his football career when he said "Thanks, but no thanks," to England and instead plumped to play for the Republic of Ireland. He qualifies because of his grandparents, Danny and Kathleen O'Brien, who left Kilfinnane in Limerick several decades ago to come to the mills of west Yorkshire for work. Andy is the son of one of their 10 children.

Born in Harrogate, O'Brien talked calmly and logically of turning his back on the country of his birth, a method Martin Keown regrets not using a generation previously. O'Brien's dual nationality meant he had also tasted some Irish under-21 football and the England game in which he played, being a friendly, did not determine his international future. "But I was invited back (by England)," he said, "which was a qualifying game. It was coming to a point where I had to make a decision.

"I decided to play for Ireland because I experienced both camps and I thoroughly enjoyed the Ireland camp, more than the English one. In the English camp it was colder. I roomed on my own because Danny Cadamarteri didn't turn up. There just was a feeling to it that didn't feel right to me. From a financial point of view I don't think the club are over the moon about it because England, at the moment, are more marketable than the Irish.

"But I found out that when I was with the England squad Wes Brown had pulled out. If Wes Brown had not pulled out you could ask whether I would have been in that team. It would have been easier for me to have been on cloud nine. But if you look at the reality of the situation, I might not have been given that opportunity.

"And the Irish lads were great, I got on really well with them. It was amazing how I felt warm in the Irish camp. Even some of the senior pros made me welcome. I'm quite a shy lad so it's nice if you can go into an environment where you're welcomed. Maybe the lads in England are not so forthcoming, I wouldn't call them `big time' but they seem to be more full of themselves, which I possibly don't relate to that well. On the whole the Irish lads were more pleasant towards me - that makes me feel better, so I'll play better."

Of his own Irishness, he said he went to Limerick last summer: "To pick up a few pieces of my past, Kilfinnane, the Galtee mountains"; plus, on his England appearance: "I didn't sing the English national anthem, if that's anything."

O'Brien is playing sufficiently well for Mick McCarthy to indicate yesterday that O'Brien will be in the next full Republic squad, for the friendly with Denmark next month. "He was down to be in the last squad but he was injured," said McCarthy. "Andy's progressing, maturing, there's more to come from him, and the thing about playing in a team that has to defend a lot like Bradford is that it is good for you if you are a defender."

Knowing of O'Brien's shy nature, McCarthy also said he wants O'Brien to shed some of it, at least on the pitch. "A centre half on the field can't be shy," McCarthy said, "people will take liberties. John Hartson would. I saw Andy playing against John Hartson at Wimbledon last season and the defender has to take the initiative. But I like Andy, Ian Evans likes him and he is becoming more confident. He'll learn his job."

For now frustrating Manchester United is O'Brien's job. He managed to persuade Roy Keane to part with his jersey the last time the clubs met and today O'Brien will be keeping a close eye on either Sheringham's, Solskjaer's or Yorke's - or all three.

After United there are games at Sunderland and Arsenal, then come Aston Villa. Five points adrift at the bottom, Bradford need to pick up something in those matches just to cling on. "But you could argue those are the easy games," said O'Brien. "Then the pressure comes - Coventry, Southampton, Man City - they're the big games for us really."

With 15 points from 21 matches Bradford need another 21 from the remaining 17 to equal last season's successful total of 36. O'Brien recognises that the consequences of not doing so will be individual as well as collective.

"Four years ago we just stayed up in the first division. It takes people 10 years to achieve what we have achieved here in the past four years. That's a measure of how far we have come.

"There are lots of things to consider. Out of the five Irish centre halves, if I want to be considered, then it is fundamental that I play Premier League football. So, from that point of view, individually, I have to play in the Premiership. From the club's, sometimes you have to take a step backward to go forward."

O'Brien is not anticipating a backward move, or any move in fact, but, just in case, he has recently acquired an agent. If Bradford City are relegated, it is likely they will be rebuilding without their young, quiet cornerstone. Andy O'Brien will be elsewhere, constructing a domestic and international career.