“CHOOSE Chorley for business” boasts the sign perched alongside the M61 motorway.

Ten miles down the road, Bolton were so desperate to get the town’s finest managerial son on board that they trumpeted his arrival first thing yesterday morning.

The only problem was nothing had been signed or sealed by that stage.

By the midday press conference to unveil Phil Parkinson, the contracts were still to be sorted.

So the assembled media waited and we waited. And we waited.

“Traffic” was the host club’s official reason for Parkinson’s absence – an excuse that grew rather thin as the minutes continued to tick by.

Parkinson, a stickler for professionalism, ridiculously late because of a tailback? Pull the other one.

Memories of the “empty chair” incident at Huddersfield in 2007 when Parkinson backed out at the 11th hour reared their head.

Surely history was not about to repeat itself as “chair-gate” became a popular theme on social media to relieve the lunchtime boredom.

No, Parkinson eventually emerged with an apology and a cheery smile two and a half hours after the scheduled start.

“How was the journey, Phil?”

Meanwhile, paperwork continued to fly across the Pennines until City finally broke their media silence to confirm all was good – while taking a pointed dig at the premature reaction from their League One counterparts.

Parkinson will be joined at the Macron Stadium by his trusted team; Steve Parkin, Nick Allamby, Lee Butler and chief scout Tim Breacker.

The new era at City will now gather pace with so many familiar faces moving on in the wake of Julian Rhodes and Mark Lawn selling out to Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp.

Parkinson insists he has left on good terms and was not in any way coerced by the new German regime into moving on.

He said: “I came in with Julian and Mark and now the new owners have come in. I’ve not met Stefan yet but I got on well with Edin and it gives them the opportunity to put their own marker down.

“As the summer’s progressed, I’ve had a lot of thinking time and just genuinely fancied a change.

“I just think like anybody who works for a period of time at one company, sometimes having that fresh chance to stimulate yourself as a person does appeal.

“I didn’t have a burning desire that I had to leave this summer. But as the weeks progressed I just fancied a new challenge.

“Edin hasn’t once told me he wanted me to go at all. He’s been very respectful and I think he’s going to be an excellent owner of the club going forward.

“I just thought it was a good time for a change and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it’s a good thing for all parties.

“But you can imagine how tough it’s been for myself and my family to make this call.”

After five seasons of progress, turning City from a team looking over their shoulder at the bottom of the league to one within touching distance of the Championship, did Parkinson feel he had taken them far enough?

There have been rumblings that the wage bill on offer for next season would barely match the last one.

“No, not really,” he added. “As I said at the end after the Millwall game, the aim has got to be to get Bradford in the top two and the squad and the infrastructure left in place is a strong one.

“Edin is still working out the finances but I’ve been in that scenario every year at Bradford where we evolve as the summer progresses.

“We discussed the players we want to get in. It wasn’t really that.

“They are going to be very good owners for Bradford City, exactly what I said about a week ago in the club interview.

“They have got a long-term strategy in place as well. They clearly know what they want to do.

“They will genuinely be good for the club going forward. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t believe it.

“Now they’ve got the opportunity to put their mark on it and create their own next stage in the history of Bradford City.”

Parkinson can see similarities with the Bolton he inherits and the difficulties he encountered on arriving at Valley Parade in August 2011. They are a club who have known better days and need a good shake-up.

The first thing that needs lifting is the transfer embargo that was imposed during their Championship relegation.

He expects that to be done soon and will then target new faces – refusing to rule out the prospect of raiding his old club.

Could “history makers” such as James Hanson, Rory McArdle, Stephen Darby or James Meredith be in his sights?

“There are good players at the club but they are all under contract,” said Parkinson.

“There’s no need for Bradford to sell anybody – but we’ll have to wait and see.

“The new manager, when they come in, might want to sell.

“That’s the way football works. Managers come in, they like different players and so other ones move on.

“I absolutely loved it at Bradford. I’ve got fantastic memories there and will never, ever forget the support I’ve had, not just from the fans but the people at the football club.

“But I’ve had the chance to sit back and look at this situation and it appealed to me. Bolton are a club that have had tough times but are ready to be rebuilt.

“When I came to Bradford, what a challenge that was and this has got many similarities. Bolton have got great history as well and I want to put a smile back on people’s faces.

“I’m relishing the opportunity to get really stuck into this job and hopefully give these supporters as many good times as we gave the Bradford City fans.”