Bradford v Barnsley: Reds captain almost became a Bantam

The former Brentford defender was wanted by a host of clubs in the close season, with Yorkshire rivals Bradford and Barnsley - who lock horns in all all Yorkshire affair in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tomorrow evening - among those battling it out for his services.

It was the latter who won the race to sign him, although Mawson says that Bantams chief Phil Parkinson made a big impression upon him.

Mawson said: “I met the manager and really liked Phil Parkinson, he was a very nice fellow.

“They are a big club, obviously. There were loads of things I have to take into consideration and just felt that Barnsley was a perfect fit to be honest, so I joined here.”

On the cup game, he added: “We are going out there to win. It’s a big stadium and they are going to have a lot of fans and a good following and it’s quite local.

“It will be an enjoyable game. We obviously had a tasty encounter with them earlier in the season and I want to go there and beat them and progress in this tournament and get as far as we can.

“It could be a possible date at Wembley and that’s what football is made off; those days out you can talk about when your career has finished.”