Bantams grafter Jones typifies dare to dream mentality of City

You suspect for players as well, none more so than the Bantams’ very own Captain Fantastic Gary Jones, who wept tears of joy following the final whistle of City’s stunning 4-3 aggregate win over Aston Villa in the second leg of their captivating semi-final on Tuesday night.

The indefatigable Scouse midfielder, who turns 36 in June and who started his career in the non-league backwaters of Caernarfon Town, has been a true totem for the club’s history-making exploits in becoming the first fourth-tier side to make a Wembley final of a major domestic Cup competition.

Now his own dream has become majestic reality. Leading his team-mates out at the home of football in front of a full house with millions watching on the television across the globe.

It simply does not get any better than that.

Given what City have achieved so far in the competition, no-one will be discounting one more glorious chapter being written.

And if anyone asks Jones if he has envisaged himself walking up the steps on February 24 to receive a glittering trophy from an esteemed dignitary, then the answer is yes.

Who wouldn’t after the events of Tuesday evening not to mention January 8 and December 15.

Jones has been simply outstanding in City’s quartet of games against top-flight opponents, which has seen him comfortably outshine seasoned internationals such as Santi Carzola and Aaron Ramsey and bright young things such as Jack Wilshere and Fabian Delph, who are almost 15 years younger than him.

Few players have earned a Wembley appearance as much as he has.

On entertaining the prospect of lifting the Bantams’ first piece of major silverware since 1911, the former Rochdale and Barnsley grafter said: “To be fair, you have got to. Because who would have expected us to come this far?

“This Cup run is what you play football for and what dreams are made of. We can now dream about winning it, why not? We have come this far. Hopefully, we can pull off another massive upset.

“Your mind goes over and over things. What if, what if? Now it is reality and we are at Wembley.

“For a fourth division team to get to Wembley is quite incredible and unheard of. To beat three Premier League teams along the way, including Aston Villa over two legs...words cannot describe it.”

Jones’s emotion was there for all to see in front of the cameras following City’s 3-2 penalty shoot-out success over Arsenal in the quarter-finals and he again struggled to contain himself at Villa Park, with the sheer magnitude of what he and team-mates have achieved hitting home amid delirious scenes.

His own heart-on-sleeve reaction was a mixture of ecstasy, relief and especially pride, with storybook Cup stories made for solid pros like Jones.

Wembley is a venue Jones has frequented before as a player, with the midfielder skippering Rochdale in their 3-2 League Two play-off final loss to Stockport County in May, 2008, with current Bantams team-mate Rory McArdle also lining up for the Spotland outfit that Spring afternoon.

He is under no illusions that next month’s blue-riband occasion will be somewhat higher in profile, with the world and his wife waiting to see if City can finish off a faith-restoring story, which has provided hope and romance in a hitherto moribund 2012-13 season where the footballing headlines have been pretty negative.

It is an occasion that football and not just scores of Bradfordians are already looking forward to and while mindful that City have pressing League business to contend with in the four-and-half weeks before the final, Jones acknowledges Tuesday was something else, especially for the 6,500 supporters present at Villa Park who have followed the club in adverse times in recent seasons.

He said: “Our league form has suffered in us dropping to 10th. But you cannot replicate nights like Tuesday; they live with you for the rest of your life. Especially at my time at 35. It’s my footballing swansong really.

“I was emotional at the end because what we have done in the competition will probably never happen again.

“Those supporters who were at Villa have spent a lot of time watching their team in the doldrums over the years and to see their reaction at the end of the game was quite incredible and we have rewarded them with a final place.

“For me, it will be totally different from a play-off final and it will probably be a full house of 90,000. It is one hell of a game to look forward to.”

Aggregate victory at Villa Park – scene of a painful moment in the club’s history back in May, 1988, when a costly defeat was pinpointed as the grievous blow to their hopes of reaching the top-flight – saw plaudits rightfully shared around among players, fans and the management alike But Jones insists special mention has to go to boss Phil Parkinson, the embodiment of analytical cool throughout a Cup campaign which has seen his managerial stock rise immeasurably.

And Jones is savvy enough to appreciate that Parkinson’s accomplishments will continue to receive plenty of nodding heads of approval in rival boardrooms following his ‘incredible’ job since taking over at City.

On Parkinson, who rebuffed the advances of managerless Blackpool earlier this month, he said: “You do worry about losing managers, as he (Parkinson) has done an incredible job.

“He is not a ranter and raver and goes about his business calmly and casually and it shows on the pitch in the way we play.

“We know what he expects of us. You could see that at Villa in the way we don’t do anything rash after their first goal and in the second half, we played some really good stuff.”