City slickers

A three-goal salvo in 13 first-half minutes of Saturday’s play-off final against Northampton Town ensured a remarkable season – featuring two trips to Wembley – ended on the ultimate high.

For Rhodes, the sight of captain Gary Jones – who has been awarded a new one-year contract after leading City to promotion – and Ricky Ravenhill lifting the League Two play-off trophy represents the dawning of a bright new era at Valley Parade.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post 24 hours on from City’s Wembley triumph, Rhodes said: “I think Saturday shows that we have firmly, and finally, turned the corner as a club. All those horrible, horrible days of the past are exactly that – in the past.

“To win promotion and get to a major Cup final in the same season is something truly remarkable. I firmly believe this is the start of something big for Bradford City.

“Momentum in football can be really hard to stop, as we know better than most because of what happened after we came out of the Premier League. Now, that momentum is going in the right direction – which is why I am confident we can do well in League One next season.

“We are going up, not just to consolidate, but to make our mark. I honestly believe anything is possible.”

Asked whether back-to-back promotions was a realistic goal, Rhodes replied: “The Championship is, by no means, out of our reach. As a club, we are finally working on a level playing field with the debts gone.

“Added to that is the huge potential this club has. Thanks to our fan-base, I believe being in the Championship would guarantee us 20,000 crowds.

“Before that, of course, we have League One to contend with. I’ve always thought that, once out of the bottom division, we’d be capable of winning back-to-back promotions. Now we have to try and make that happen.”

City, priced at 10-1 by the bookmakers to reach the Championship by 2014-15, now face a busy summer planning for their return to the third tier.

Five members of the starting line-up at Wembley will be out of contract this summer. Andrew Davies, who dropped down from the Premier League to join the Bantams a year ago, is one of those facing an uncertain future along with Garry Thompson, Jon McLaughlin, Kyel Reid and Nathan Doyle.

Carl McHugh and Zavon Hines, both unused substitutes on Saturday, will also be out of contract next month to leave Rhodes admitting: “There will be a few days of celebration but then the hard work starts.

“A big target has to be keeping the squad together. There are a few players out of contract and obviously their futures have to be settled.

“Promotion will help in that respect. There were one or two of those whom we thought we might lose if we were still in League Two, but now we stand a much better chance.

“Don’t forget as well that the vast majority of Phil Parkinson’s squad are under contract for next season anyway. And Gary Jones, as part of a clause inserted in the deal that he signed on joining us last summer, has automatically got a new contract now that we have won promotion.

“Along with having a better chance of keeping the squad together, promotion also means our recruitment becomes a bit different now as we are looking at players capable of playing at the top end of League One.”

The future of manager Parkinson is also set to be resolved in the near future after the club agreed a new two-year deal with their boss last week.

The City chief wants to sign his own contract at the same time as assistant manager Steve Parkin and fitness coach Nick Allamby, whose own talks with the club are set to be stepped up now the play-off final is out of the way.

Rhodes added: “Even when things were at their most difficult, I always believed that Bradford City would be able to rise again.

“Phil and his staff have been the catalyst for that, together with our educated gamble to go for it this season by having a big budget.

“The job that has been done cannot be over-estimated. When Phil took over (in August, 2011), I believe he inherited the worst squad in the Football League. We were absolutely awful.

“We had some good players in that squad but we had a lot who were not so good as well. We said to Phil on his first day that his first season would be all about staying in the Football League.

“To go from that to where we are today is an incredible transformation. He did it by bringing in strong characters who all boast a work ethic that is second to none. They are a very special group.”