JULIAN Rhodes has paid tribute to Phil Parkinson as he closes in on becoming City’s longest-serving boss for over half a century.

Parkinson became one of only six Valley Parade managers to reach 200 games on Saturday and the first since Trevor Cherry in 1987.

He will pass Cherry’s 216 by the end of the season, making him the longest in the hot-seat since Peter Jackson 54 years ago.

Joint-chairman Rhodes said: “It’s testament to the job he is doing.

“You go back to 2007 when we started the cheaper ticket policy to get bigger crowds. We hoped Stuart McCall would be the man to take us up the divisions on the back of that.

“Unfortunately it didn’t work out and we tried a couple of other avenues. Then Phil came along and realised very quickly the kind of player our supporters would appreciate.

“His first season was all about survival and we managed that. Since then, he has fitted in very well with the club’s objectives and been hugely successful. He also has a great work ethic.

“We’ve had some games in the last couple of years that people could only have dreamed about.”

Parkinson has another season to run on the contract he signed on the day of City’s open-top bus parade after winning promotion in May 2013. The club may look to address the situation in the summer.

Rhodes added: “It was going to be a two-year deal but at the last minute Phil asked for three. We’re very glad we gave him that.

“We are all working towards the same goal. We want to take Bradford City back up the division and want to get big crowds.

“Mark (Lawn) and I have had disagreements with Phil but you get that in all walks of life, especially business – and this is a business.

“But we dust ourselves down, have a little shout and then get on with things.

“We work very well together and long may that continue. Collectively we can achieve a lot.”

Parkinson takes City to third-placed Swindon tonight aiming to build on a run that has seen them lose only twice in 20 games.

He was unaware of the weekend milestone but said: “I’m very pleased with that. It’s not always easy to reach 200 games in the modern era but you need a good board of directors and people working around you.”

Parkinson has added 17-year-old Nottingham Forest right winger Oliver Burke to the squad on an initial 28-day youth loan. The Scot, who can also play up front, made his Championship debut last week from the bench against Blackpool.

Parkinson said: “He is only young but he’s a big, strong and powerful wide player. I spoke to (Forest boss) Dougie Freedman last week and just feel we need more pace in this period of games.”

Burke will cover the continued absence of Filipe Morais. James Hanson and Andrew Davies also miss out again.

“It’s a blow but there’s nothing we can do,” added Parkinson. “We’ve just got to make sure they are right.

“Andrew and James are very minor, more precautionary than anything, and we’re still keeping our fingers crossed with Filipe.”

Swindon won a bad-tempered game at Valley Parade earlier in the season. But they have lost three in a row to slip five points adrift of the automatic promotion spots and were beaten 2-1 at home by lowly Crawley at the weekend.

Parkinson said: “They’ve lost a little bit of touching distance with the top two and we’ll go down there in a confident frame of mind after the last few away games.

“Obviously they play three at the back and have a quite distinctive way of setting up the team and we’ve got to be prepared for that.

“The mentality on our travels has been very good and it’s absolutely crucial that we keep that.”