PHIL Parkinson is not surprised by Gianni Paladini’s bid to buy the Bantams as he tries to carry on his summer business as normal.

With the season now done, Parkinson intends to maintain his usual approach to squad planning without being deflected by the Italian’s ongoing takeover.

But the City boss, who admits dealing with these situations is part of the remit for the “modern-day” manager, can see why the club are attracting attention.

As revealed by the Telegraph & Argus, there are other potential suitors lining up to talk to joint-chairmen Mark Lawn and Julian Rhodes if Paladini’s buy-out attempt falls down.

Parkinson said: “In all honesty, I’d have been surprised if someone wasn’t trying to buy the club.

“People from the outside have looked at the support and what the club means to the city. If you’re going to buy a club, we’d have to be up there in the ones you potentially would look at.

“It didn’t surprise me when I read that there are other people wanting to speak to Julian and Mark about purchasing the club. It is in a very strong position – possibly the strongest it has been in for a lot of years.

“There has been a lot of hard work that has gone in over the years, not just since I’ve been here but before that as well.

“When times weren’t great, the fan base was kept in place and that’s so important.

“Now we’ve progressed up a league, we’ve had the cup runs, we’ve got no debt at all. We’ve got money in the bank and a decent squad of players.”

Parkinson has already drawn up team plans with Lawn and Rhodes to avoid the risk of being held back if the negotiations are allowed to drag on.

But he knows the situation could alter quickly with a change at the top.

He added: “I’ve sat down with Julian and Mark and obviously we are continuing business if they are still in charge.

“There have been many takeovers that have got to this stage and never happened, so we are continuing to discuss what we’d like to do and that’s the right approach.

“If someone else is in charge, obviously it does change things because it’s someone else’s opinion which is going to have the say in terms of wages and budgets and players we can go for.

“The modern-day manager has got to get used to that because takeovers happen a lot.

“I’ve been in this position before and I’ve known that it can be damaging if things drag on. But I don’t think Julian and Mark will let that happen.

“Ultimately ever since I’ve been here, I’ve known how much they love the club. If they don’t own the club they will still be coming to watch the games because they are supporters.

“They want the best for the club going forward and I’m sure that when the dust settles, that’s what will happen.”

Meanwhile, season-ticket prices will be announced later this week.