Ross Hannah is a year older and wiser and knows now exactly what pre-season holds.

The hungry striker is no longer the wet-behind-the-ears rookie thrown into the demands of professional football for the first time.

But he is also realistic enough to predict that the task facing him this time will be even more demanding.

“I see this as a tougher challenge,” admitted Hannah. “Last year I was the new signing expected to come in and score goals.

“Chances were limited so I didn’t really get the opportunity to show everybody what I was about and now I’m down the pecking order a bit.

“But I will be a lot better prepared because I’m not new to anything.

“Last year was a step into the unknown with the adrenaline and excitement of stepping up to this level. Now I’m a more experienced Ross Hannah with all that behind me.”

Eighteen of Hannah’s 26 appearances last term came off the bench before he finished the season on loan with Halifax in Blue Square Bet North.

For some, that would be evidence that he has not made the grade after his goal-laden non-league days at Matlock. But his self-belief remains strong and he has the confidence of boss Phil Parkinson behind him after getting a year’s extension on his contract before he headed for The Shay.

Hannah added: “People on the outside will see that I finished on loan at Halifax and they’re going to talk. They’ll say ‘I can’t see him staying’ and think that I’ve fallen out of the picture a little bit.

“But it was all part of the plan for me to go out and get some games and goals under my belt.

“They don’t know what discussions I’ve had with the gaffer. I was quite comfortable going out on loan knowing I had another year to come back and prove myself at City.

“All footballers want to know what’s going on and where they stand.

“When I was told I was going to get another year it really settled me down and put me in good spirits.

“Last season was big for me but I needed my body to change. I’d not been used to training every day and the physical side of it.

“It took me a few months to really get used to that. But I feel good now, look after myself and followed the training programme I was given so I can hit the ground running.”

Hannah burst on the scene with an equaliser at Oxford in the second week of the season. Then he announced himself in even more dramatic fashion with the last-gasp equaliser at Morecambe in Parkinson’s first game in charge.

But his momentum was jolted by an unfortunate injury during a pre-match warm-up against Plymouth in December. Having scored in the previous week’s FA Cup win over Wimbledon, his partnership with James Hanson was progressing nicely – then he pulled up lame.

His absence gave Nahki Wells the chance to step up and the Bermudian made the most of it, cementing his place for the rest of the season.

Hannah said: “That injury really knocked me back. I’d done well alongside James at Gillingham and then scored the following week, so things were looking good.

“But then I had the problem in the warm-up which put me out for nearly a month.

“I lost that momentum and fair play to Nahki, who came in and took his chance. That’s what happens in football.

“But I really feel that Bradford City have not seen the real Ross Hannah yet.

“I got a reputation for being a super sub once I got those two goals from the bench but I’m not coming back to be a bit-part player.

“I feel a lot stronger in all aspects, physically and mentally, with that extra bit of experience that I didn’t have before.

“People think I’m just a goal-scorer but I know there’s more to my game than that. The more I play, the more that will come to the fore.

“There have been times when I’ve probably been trying a little bit too hard.

“It’s important to play your natural game and have that confidence.

“Even in the friendlies I want to do that because I know the gaffer will be watching for certain things. If you can get that consistency from early on, then it could make a big difference.”