Ryan Sparks says Bradford City will be leaner and more flexible to go one step further next season

Bradford City will aim to be leaner and more flexible to make the jump from play-off semi-finalists to League Two promotion winners, according to chief executive Ryan Sparks.

With foundations laid during Mark Hughes's first full season in charge at Valley Parade, Sparks expects a quieter summer transfer window but not a quiet one, with recruitment up and running.

"It won't be as busy as last summer because the manager is the same," confirmed Sparks. "There could be changes to the way we structure the squad in terms of numbers but generally speaking we're recruiting from a position of strength.

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"I feel like we have momentum, which might sound strange because we hit the buffers at Carlisle.

"We've got numerous plates spinning, we've watched hundreds of players in the last six to 12 months and we have various targets. Certain ones have become very successful or haven't this season and that changes your plan.

"The art of recruitment is can you come up with the ones no one knows about?

"Harry Lewis had never played a game in the EFL, neither had Scotty Banks. Tyreik Wright, who Plymouth snatched from us in January, was desperate to come here to get his career going.

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"But we want to make sure we get it right and that we make a better start than we did to last season.

PLATFORM: Manager Mark Hughes (left) and chief executive Ryan Sparks revamped the Bradford City in the last two transfer windowsPLATFORM: Manager Mark Hughes (left) and chief executive Ryan Sparks revamped the Bradford City in the last two transfer windows
PLATFORM: Manager Mark Hughes (left) and chief executive Ryan Sparks revamped the Bradford City in the last two transfer windows

"We won't have anything like the 17 new permanent signings of last summer so there's an understanding of who does what.

"We carried a very heavy squad last season and a lot of players who didn't feature much so we might go a little bit leaner and have the ability to change formations more fluidly."

There most significant signing may have already happened, with last season's 31-goal top-scorer Andy Cook signing a new three-year contract.

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"Andy is happy here, it's his new home and he's in the form of his career," said Sparks. "We've signed the best player in the division. There was huge interest in him but I've got a fantastic relationship with Andy and his representatives and we got it done pretty quickly.

"When you fall short you can't lose sight of what has worked and we're not a million miles away from where we want to be."