Gary Jones today pinpointed Phil Parkinson as the biggest signing City will make all summer.

The Bantams boss ended months of speculation when he penned a new three-year deal ahead of last night’s promotion parade.

Assistant Steve Parkin and fitness coach Nick Allamby also signed contracts for the same length to give City a solid managerial base as they prepare to return to League One.

Skipper Jones said: “Going forward it’s vital that the manager signed because every club need that stability.

“There are quite a few management jobs up for grabs at the moment and Phil Parkinson gets linked with every job that comes up – rightly so with what he has done. That’s why it’s so important that the club have got him on a new contract.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him. A lot of people have tried to get Bradford out of League Two and failed but he’s now done it.

“This is really his first season with his own team and to get to Wembley twice – and one in a major cup competition – is quite an incredible achievement.

“When he took over last year, the job was just to keep Bradford in League Two because they were languishing very dangerously near the bottom.

“This season he’s been able to build his own team the way he wants to play and you’ve seen the results. The team spirit we’ve got is incredible.”

With Parkinson’s future secured, Jones expects potential transfer targets to be knocking down the door at Valley Parade.

He said: “It’s a great proposition for players who want to come to a big club with great support and a very good manager. I’m sure a lot will be keen to sign for Bradford.

“And hopefully we can keep most of the current squad together now. A lot of teams who have gone up to League One have done really well and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same.

“Everybody talks about momentum being a big factor in football and it’s true. When you’ve got that winning mentality, you go into every game confident.

“There’s not much difference between the two divisions apart from the top teams. We’ve certainly got the quality and I’m sure we will add to it – especially with the manager here.”

Confirmation of the new contracts brought a delirious reaction from fans, who had grown anxious at the number of delays in getting the deals done.

Parkinson, who will now earn a significant increase, turned down the chance to talk with Blackpool in January – and the offer of quadrupling his wages in the Championship.

But with City’s remarkable season, he was still in the sights of other managerless clubs. Sheffield United and, most recently, Millwall and Wolves were thought to be watching closely.

City joint-chairman Mark Lawn said: “I was confident he would do it and said it all along. All parties knew it was going to happen.

“People have just got to understand that as negotiations go, it can take a bit of time to get the minutiae together.

“Three years was the minimum we wanted. We’re aiming to go back up the divisions and we want Phil to be the man leading us.”