Clap Phil Parkinson and then us, Stuart McCall urges Bradford fans

Bradford will be roared on by a 4,300 away contingent, with many City fans having been counting down the days for the fixture after Parkinson’s surprise summer switch to Lancashire.

While the Parkinson factor has undeniably added piquancy to tomorrow’s Roses encounter, McCall – like his Bolton counterpart – is eager to focus on business first and foremost after a touch of respect.

McCall said: “If I was a supporter, I would be giving him a clap and then concentrating on the game.

“I cannot influence how supporters are going to behave.

“But I was up in Scotland watching Bradford beat Leeds as a fan and watching the Arsenal and (Aston) Villa games and going to Wembley when they played against Swansea and seeing them beat Chelsea.

“If you are a Bradford City supporter over the last 20 years, I never thought Wolves would be beaten and then you had the day against Liverpool. But if you were at Chelsea, that day will forever live in your memory.

“A lot of that was down to Phil and his staff.”

Meanwhile, Parkinson has stressed that the time was right for him to leave Bradford, so that a new chapter could be written for himself and the club.

He added: “It is always difficult to leave a club and I had an agreement with the owners to come out with a press statement which was jointly agreed. I could not go into much detail.

“I have said everything I needed to about Bradford and how much I enjoyed it there. I just think when the new owners came in, it was the time for me to move on. It was also the right time for the new owners to make their mark with Bradford.”