WHAT began in sweltering Andorra could end under the floodlights in the East End on Friday night.

Josh Cullen will not forget his first season of senior football in a hurry.

Should City pull off one more play-off miracle and overturn their first-leg deficit at Millwall, there could still be a glorious send-off at Wembley on May 29.

If that was the case, Cullen's campaign would have lasted almost 11 months. Not that he would complain in the slightest.

The "journey" cliche is appropriate when charting the 20-year-old's progress during that time.

Match experience in the Europa League, a Premier League baptism against Liverpool and a key role in steering City into the League One play-offs. Not a bad return on his first year.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind," he admitted, "but a very good one.

"With the Europa League at the start of the season, then making my Premier League debut at Anfield, then coming up here.

"It's been an incredible season and one I've enjoyed thoroughly. Long may it continue – I just wish we can finish it with promotion and a win at Wembley."

That will take some doing as City look to bounce back from Millwall's 3-1 win at Valley Parade; but given what Cullen has achieved so far, maybe not totally out the question.

He played his first game at the same time as his current team-mates were just blowing away the cobwebs for the start of pre-season.

It was July 2 and Cullen played the last half hour of West Ham's 3-0 win over Andorrans FC Lusitans at Upton Park.

Slaven Bilic was officially in charge for the first time but it was academy director Terry Westley overseeing a team full of promising youngsters. Reece Burke featured in the full game, claiming the opening clean sheet of plenty to follow.

A week later, Cullen got his first start in the return in Andorra La Vella in conditions more suited to the beach than European competition.

He played again in Romania when West Ham's Europa League tour ended abruptly in 2-1 defeat.

It might have been a bad start for Bilic but Cullen got plaudits for his personal performance and was promoted to the fringes of the first team.

By the end of August, he was stepping off the bench at Anfield to bask in the glow of West Ham's 3-0 thumping of Liverpool.

Cullen's next senior outing would be his City debut in the equally emphatic 4-0 rout of Peterborough in mid-February. He has been a midfield fixture ever since and playing with a growing maturity.

"It's crazy to think it will be 11 months (since the first game) if we get to the final," he said.

"But it's what you want, to play in as many games as you can. To start the season in the Europa League and then maybe end up at Wembley would be unbelievable.

"We had a few trips early on to Andorra and Romania but it's been a good season. If someone had said at the start what would happen you'd have taken it all day long."

Cullen and Lee Evans had their work cut out against Millwall in the home leg.

Phil Parkinson felt the young pairing struggled in the first half, when the visitors took command, but linked the play much better as City came on strong after the break.

It was unusual to see the central duo playing second fiddle as they had done in the earlier stages. Fans have grown used to Cullen and Evans pulling the strings.

Parkinson praised their "courage" in that second half to get on the ball and use it more effectively. They will have to be brave to do the same thing in the cockney cauldron that will greet them at the end of the week.

Given the fractious local relationship between Millwall and the Hammers, Cullen could be in the firing line even more – not that he seems bothered by the prospect.

He said: "I haven't really thought about it too much. The atmosphere is going to be good but you just take it as another game. My family are all West Ham and obviously there is a bit of a thing with Millwall.

"But it's business and I'm in a position at Bradford now. We've got to go there and try to get the job done. You put the emotions to one side and focus on the game. That's all that matters.

"I'm just taking it in my stride, like I do whoever we play, and prepare for it in exactly the same way as any other game. Just because it's Millwall, it doesn't make a difference to me."

But the outcome will have a significant bearing on Cullen's immediate future.

In an interview with the Telegraph & Argus in March, Westley revealed West Ham's plans to loan Cullen and Burke back out again next season in the Championship. City would have first dibs on taking them back – if promoted.

Cullen is not looking further than Friday for now but has certainly not dismissed the idea – providing, of course, they did manage to reach the second tier.

"When I go back to West Ham, I'll speak with everyone down there and see what the best move for me is," he said.

"If Bradford are in the Championship, there's no reason why I wouldn't come back. I've loved my time here and if that's the best thing for me, I'd definitely be open to it."