Mark Lawn has condemned Morecambe boss Sammy McIlroy's "unprofessional" attitude after hammering City's bid for right winger Garry Thompson.

The Bantams have offered £10,000 for a player who ripped them apart at Christie Park in October, when he scored one goal and set up the stoppage-time winner.

But McIlroy called it a "joke bid" and stormed: "It's a derisory offer for one of our key players. To be perfectly honest, it's ludicrous for a player of Garry's experience and potential."

City believe it was a realistic figure and are staggered by the former Northern Ireland chief's response.

Joint-chairman Lawn said: "The player's contract is up in the summer and we made a bid comparable with his situation.

"Mr McIlroy can slam us as much as he likes. But they've just paid £15,000 for the captain of Shrewsbury (Stuart Drummond) so I wouldn't be up to making derogatory statements like that.

"We made an offer for one of their players and they turned it down. It happens all the time in football and I don't see why he needs to scream and shout about it.

"I'm stunned at the lack of professionalism that he has had to go publicly slagging us off."

City were also in the hunt for Swansea midfielder Ian Craney, who last week joined Accrington for a club record £85,000.

Stuart McCall admitted: "It's a real eye-opener when Accrington can spend that sort of money.

"He was a boy we've been trailing for a little while and we were hoping that maybe something could be sorted to take him on loan to the end of the season.

"I was shocked to see Accrington pay that but then they did get £150,000 from Swansea for him a year ago.

"But we know where our club has been for the last few years and we don't want to go back there.

"In our position, it's probably more sensible to wait for the summer when hopefully there will be funds and we can pick up people who are out of contract, rather than having to pay £40-£50,000 now.

"I've been speaking to Darren Ferguson at Peterborough and Paul Lambert at Wycombe and they're both having a little surge in the transfer window. It is frustrating having to watch them.

"Wycombe have been there or thereabouts at Christmas in the last couple of seasons and not really kicked on. But they've brought in Leon Knight and are having a go.

"We were hoping to be in that position in and around the play-offs and then might well have gone out and tried to create the funds to bring people in ourselves.

"But where we are at this moment, it's more realistic to wait for the summer rather than having to pay what we'd have to now.

"We are still aiming to accumulate as many points as we can and do well for the rest of the season so that will entice people to come."

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