PAUL Jewell has warned rookie Bantams boss Michael Collins he’ll need a thick skin to deal with the wave of criticism following his appointment.

The manager who masterminded City’s rise to the Premier League in 1999 knows from experience the flak Collins will have to put up with.

Promotion winner Jewell’s place in club history is assured but Geoffrey Richmond’s decision to install him in the hot-seat in the first place had received an equally prickly reaction from supporters.

Jewell was 33 at the time, only a year older than Collins, when City’s controversial former chairman gave him his first crack at management.

He understands what Collins must go through as a novice head coach to make his mark at Valley Parade.

Jewell told the T&A: “I don’t know how good a coach Michael Collins is but I’ve been in that situation when you’ve just been appointed.

“I was in Geoffrey’s office when he took a phone call from a fan. There was a guy and his five mates who were cancelling their season tickets after they’d heard about my appointment.

“I wasn’t popular. But whether you like it or not, you’ve got to give the kid a chance.

“Michael has got to have a strong self-belief because all you’re reading and hearing from the whole world is that you’re no good, you’re the cheap option, you’re only the chairman’s puppet.

“I had all that and he’s got to put that to the back of his mind like I did and get on with it. He’s got to be strong.

“At the end of the day, who knows how good a coach he can be. He might turn out to be a fantastic choice.

“But someone has given him the opportunity, otherwise it’s the same old managers getting the same old jobs all the time.”

Collins was unveiled on Monday alongside Martin Drury and Greg Abbott, 41 days after Simon Grayson quit the club.

Jewell admits the delay in naming his successor – and then making an in-house choice – inevitably fuels suggestions that fans will view him as a last resort.

“The worrying thing for me is not the appointment of Michael but how long it’s taken,” he added.

“That’s six weeks of planning and I always found that post-season was the most important part.

“If you thought Michael was the man, then give him the job straight away.

“If the day after Simon left they’d announced ‘we’ve got this coach already and think he’s got a big future’, then you can understand that.

“But the supporters will all be sceptical because it’s taken so long. They will suspect that no one else wanted the job and that’s why they gave it to him.

“But the decision has been made and you’ve got to get behind the club now.

“It might seem underwhelming at the minute but you’ve got to give him a chance, simple as that.

“The only reason I got a break in football is because someone took a chance on me.

“Win the first three games of the season and he’ll be the next best coach. That’s the way football works.

“I hope he does really well and in years to come we look back and see it as a clever and successful appointment. As a Bradford fan, that’s all I want.”