Chairman Geoffrey Richmond is determined that Bradford City's phenomenal rise in English football will continue at a pace in the new millennium.

The Bantams chief is approaching his sixth anniversary of taking charge at Valley Parade and has overseen an amazing period which has seen City soar from the Second Division to the Premiership.

Crowds have more than trebled during that time while Valley Parade has been transformed into a stadium fit for the Premiership. Work is also set to start on extending the capacity to 25,000 early next year.

Richmond is rightly proud of the progress but says he is just as hungry to ensure the club keep going forward.

He said: "Football is like anything in life, you can't ever sit back and say 'I have done it'. There is always another target to chase.

"Our immediate target is to survive in the Premiership this season and if we manage that, the following season's target will be to survive a little bit more comfortably.

"The target off the field is to finish up with a stadium holding 35,000 spectators. And at that stage we want the club to be able to compete with all but the biggest clubs.

"At the moment we are probably halfway towards that target."

Richmond took charge of City when they were mid-table in Division Two but just over two years later, City had clinched promotion with a play-off triumph at Wembley.

City continued to grow with the construction of the Midland Road stand later the same year .

Then came the greatest triumph - last season's promotion to the Premiership.

The unforgettable 3-2 win at Wolves on the final day of the season sparked amazing celebrations around the district - something Richmond took great delight out of.

He said: "If you asked me about my first six years at Bradford City, I would have to say the main highlight has been the pride and pleasure that this club has given so many thousands of people.

"It is not the material things such as new stands which have pleased me most. It is the human side that is far and away the most important part of it.

"When I arrived after serving my apprenticeship with Scar-borough, I always felt that Bradford was a city with a lot of potential.

"And I felt if we could get it right on the field, the rest would follow. We had to take some tough decisions initially to put the club on a decent footing before trying to go forward.

"What has happened in the past 12 months, which has been unbelievable, would never have happened without all the hard work put in by so many people over the years."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.