Phil Parkinson today told David Syers: The ball is in your court if you want to stay at City.

The midfielder turned down the offer of a new deal in January – a decision which shocked the club. But Parkinson has made it clear the unsigned contract remains on the table.

Joint-chairman Mark Lawn said: “David has a choice now. We offered him a contract, which we believe is a good one, and he hasn’t chosen to sign it.

“I’m flabbergasted he hasn’t taken it but what can we do?”

Parkinson is clearing the Valley Parade decks for a summer rebuild. Michael Flynn, Chris Mitchell and Craig Fagan have all played their last games for the club and others will follow.

Mark Stewart is also set to go and City are in talks with Inverness about Steve Williams making his move to Scotland permanent.

Parkinson is expected to discuss possible deals with Simon Ramsden and Lee Bullock – and also insists the door remains open for Syers.

He said: “We offered him a very good contract which he didn’t take. But we certainly haven’t withdrawn it.

“It was way back when he first got back in the team. We sat down and I explained to him how much I want him to be part of it here.

“The chairman then spoke to Dave and his agent and they decided they weren’t happy with what the club were offering.

“I tried to be fair to him because he’d just recovered from a long-term injury and obviously you have concerns when you’re in that position.

“We haven’t spoken about it since then. But Dave’s out of contract and he’s got every right to see what’s out there.”

Syers, last season’s player of the year, went on Twitter after Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Cheltenham to dispute what was being said. But he later admitted it was a “storm in a tea cup” after a further chat with the manager.

Parkinson has put out feelers with potential summer targets but City will not hurry to get their business done.

“Supporters might be waiting for announcements quickly but that won’t happen,” said the Bantams boss.

“We’ve spoken to a few people already but players are still coming out of contracts. They’ve got another game to play and some might be in the play-offs.

“We’re experienced enough to know that players out of contract are always in the market for clubs wanting to speak to them. That’s the name of the game.”

As one of the best-paid players at the club, Flynn’s departure will pave the way for more investment. Fagan was also near the top of the pay scale.

Parkinson said: “We’ve got Ricky (Ravenhill) and Jonah (Ritchie Jones) already under contract and unfortunately the budget doesn’t allow for another experienced midfield player with Michael.

“Fages had plans to go back down south and one or two clubs have been speaking to his agent.

“Agreeing deals with players now saves money for us which we can utilise in the summer going forward.”