Bantams boss Graham Alexander on improving their home form

The Bantams once again finished the season with one of the division’s poorest home records.

Valley Parade’s average attendance of 17,088 was nearly 6,000 higher than promoted Wrexham in second.

But they finished a lowly 16th in terms of home form on 35 points – the worst of any team in the top half of the table.

That’s despite winning their last three Valley Parade outings – the first time that has happened since 2021 when games were being played without a crowd.

Fans are waiting to see the club’s retained list published once Graham Alexander has finished individual talks with the players.

The City boss wants a squad for next season capable of handling the demands of the biggest stage in the fourth tier.

It has been a common theme for managers in recent years but Alexander has been encouraged by the way the team picked themselves up to finish so strongly.

He said: “I wanted to be here for that crowd and that pressure so don't moan about it, bitch and whinge about it. That's why we're here.

"You'll find yourself in a better place mentally and if you are you'll do better. Take it on as an opportunity.

"A month ago all I saw in front of me was a massive challenge, not doom and gloom, and the players have done that.

“It would have been so easy to give up and drift to the end of the season but these players have put together a run that has restored belief in them as well as their own belief.

"That's a really positive force to have.”

City finished the season a point short of the play-offs in ninth place, effectively missing out on a shot at the top seven after that costly four-game losing run in mid-March.

Alexander admitted he learned a lot from the way they came out of that slump by winning six of the last seven matches - a dramatic upturn that has earned him a nomination for League Two manager of the month.

Tyreik Wright and Brad Halliday celebrate beating Gillingham (Image: Thomas Gadd)

"I've been pleased (by the team's response) but I wouldn't say surprised because it was an unknown for me,” he added. “I didn't have any preconceived expectations.

"I knew what the challenge would be ahead in the seven games after that difficult period. I knew how tough it would be and it could go either way.

“It was quite an extreme pathway one way or the other and we chose this pathway.

"I'm glad we won these games because it would have been a lot worse, I can guarantee that.

"The players deserve the credit for that. I know we prepare them and train them but ultimately it's the players who cross the white line and do the job.

"I'm pleased because as I've got to know them more over the season they're good lads, good people.

"I know how tough professional football can be, it's a really competitive sport.

“It's very pressurised, you can get stripped naked and pulled apart. It can be quite tough mentally.

"But I think the players will have proved something to themselves, more than anything, that they can face adversity and overcome massive challenges and feel good.”