Barnsley FC defender Jack Shepherd on moving on after 'wow moment' at Bradford City

The dramatic, unforgettable Antoni Sarcevic-inspired events against Fleetwood at Valley Parade marked the glorious end to one journey and after a fair-sized party, thoughts would soon turn to a new mission in the third tier.

Shepherd’s own next step was always destined to be in League One. But in the red of parent club Barnsley and not the claret and amber of the Bantams.

The 24-year-old, who featured 49 times in his season-long loan at City and became a hugely popular figure with supporters, knew that he had to quickly move on, emotionally, following those party scenes in May. Even if he won’t forget them in a hurry.

He told The Yorkshire Post: "It was a great feeling and an unbelievable day, but time moves on quickly.

"It was a ‘wow moment’ and I will have memories forever (from Bradford) and nobody can ever take that away from me.

"But you have your summer and break and it’s all forgotten about for me and in the back of my mind.

"It’s time to use those experiences I learnt last year and bring them to the table this year.

"It’s a different season now and time for me to kick on now this year and be a completely different player (for Barnsley) and keep improving again week by week. That’s my plan for this season."

Shepherd’s time in West Yorkshire represented something akin to a ‘finishing school’.

His first season of consistently playing in the EFL and learning from senior colleagues at the back such as Paul Huntington was a career-enhancing one, while the input of City’s management team - and two defenders of some repute back in the day of Graham Alexander and Chris Lucketti - proved invaluable on a daily basis.

In the working week, he will now rub shoulders with another seasoned centre-half in Marc Roberts back at Oakwell and a respected defender in his playing days in assistant boss Richard Keogh and is hoping to garner plenty from that.

"There was some great experience there (at Bradford) and they were great with me last season," Shepherd added.

"I want the same again this season, with Robbo there and Richard Keogh on the coaching staff and he has a lot of experience.

"I want to be a ‘sponge’ and learn as much as I can about the game and myself and just try and improve day by day with them.

"There’s a lot of stuff you learn about yourself when you are playing week in and week out and I know how to deal with stuff better and differently and correctly deal with things."

During his time at City, Shepherd had regular contact with his parent club, including conversations with head coach Conor Hourihane, who replaced Darrell Clarke - initially on an interim basis - in March.

Speaking in April, Reds sporting director Mladen Sormaz also provided the former Pontefract Collieries player - who quit his job as a kitchen fitter for a crack at the big time with the Reds two summers ago - with a fillip by stating that he had a ‘big future’ at Oakwell.

Shepherd was appreciative of the comments and there have been some positive chats with Hourihane so far in pre-season.

He continued: "There was contact there (last season), between the change of managers and stuff like that and I had conversations.

"Their main thing for me was ‘concentrate on this season and your football and have a good season’.”

Specifically on his talks with Hourihane, he said: "I had a few conversations with him before and since I have come back and it was about a plan of how we are going to play this year and how he wants us to be as defenders and that’s it.

"It’s the clarity of what he wants and expects from us and that’s all you can ask for really. Then it’s down to you to go out on the pitch and do it yourself."