ROBBIE O'Brien may have been Farsley Celtic's skipper when he hung up his boots but he captained Bradford Park Avenue for many seasons and insists the club will always have a special place in his heart.

O'Brien was the leader and midfield engine when Avenue won promotion to the then Conference North, which is now National North. Avenue have maintained their place in that sixth tier ever since.

The former Horsfall crowd favourite said: "I've had a brilliant career, with so many highs and obviously a few lows, but I've always given my best and enjoyed every minute.

"I really enjoyed it at Bradford and we had some great players – Simon Baldry, Dru (Martin Drury) and big Lamby (John Lamb) in goal. There were a lot of very good players but no big-time Charlies.

"It was a time when Bob Blackburn, John Dean and Kevin Hainsworth were making big changes at the club.

"Everyone on the outside thought that because the ground was spruced up and things were moving that there was big money being splashed about.

"We (the players) were doing all right but it was tough because everyone thought we were there to be shot at. The dressing room was great though. It was a just a team; a group of lads that wanted to win.

"They were challenging times as well because every season we were in the UniBond Premier there was a big club in there.

"Jamie Vardy was at FC Halifax Town the season that we came up against them and Chester came through one season. Playing bigger teams meant bigger crowds and we thrived on that.

"There was a big crowd when we won the play-off final against FC United of Manchester at home to get into the Conference North. That was a fantastic day."

Many people within the game think that O'Brien has retired too early but the player himself feels that he is ready to bow out.

He said: "My best season was alongside Jamie Price at Horsfall Stadium. Pricey was in central midfield with me and that gave me so much freedom to play my game.

"Jamie is one of those players like Michael Carrick that does so much work but never gets the recognition that they deserve.

"I also had Dru behind me at left back and I was with him at Doncaster Rovers.

"It was great for us to play Donny in the FA Cup that season because in our time there we were at the old Belle Vue but the cup tie was at the Keepmoat Stadium.

"We both enjoyed seeing how the club had evolved in the years in between and it was also good to see some old faces from our time at Donny."