Striker loved spell at Bradford but is ready to sink former club (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Striker loved spell at Bradford but is ready to sink former club

4:20pm Monday 23rd November 2009

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Barry Conlon insists he “absolutely loved” his two years in a City shirt.

The well-travelled Irishman is set to line up against his old club tomorrow night for the first time since he left Valley Parade in March.

Conlon’s Bantams career ended under a cloud when he was axed from a game alongside Matt Clarke for disciplinary reasons. He was then loaned to Grimsby before making the move permanent in the summer.

But he still looks back fondly on his spell in West Yorkshire and feels no bitterness about the way it finished.

Conlon said: “I’ve seen Stuart McCall at a couple of our games since leaving Bradford and there’s never been a problem at all.

“I wasn’t playing as much as I liked and was in and out of the team but I absolutely loved it there. I got on well with the lads and I still get on fine with Stuart.

“There were no hard feelings when I left and it worked out well. I was playing week in week out again for Grimsby and I was notching goals most weeks, which helped them stay up.

“They were really struggling when I first came in so to survive in the end was a big achievement.”

Grimsby face a similar fight this season after being stuck with Darlington in the bottom two. Conlon has also suffered his own frustration with two red cards, which have seen him suspended for SEVEN games already.

“It’s been difficult to get any rhythm going, especially when I got sent off again in only my second game back,” he admitted.

“I’ve been on the bench recently while I get a couple of reserve games under my belt and hopefully I can get back to having a regular run again.”

Grimsby have picked up slightly in recent games with three successive draws but have not won since September 19.

Conlon said: “You know what it’s like when you’re stuck on a bad run. Nothing seems to go for you.

“The confidence in the changing room has been good but we’ve never really been able to pick from a full squad.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries and had a few suspensions and there are still lads out now. We are having to chop and change all the time, which is never a good thing.

“But we played some decent football at Lincoln on Saturday, although we couldn’t nick a goal. It was a bit of a scrap but that’s what you expect when you’re down the bottom of the table.

“I came on for the last 20 minutes and I’m really hoping to be involved in some way against Bradford.

“With the manager situation sorted, everyone knows where they stand now for the rest of the season and we’re looking to kick on.”

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