TERRY Dolan was 300 miles away in Cornwall when he found out that Bradford Park Avenue had been kicked out of the Football League.

The fateful meeting fell on the middle weekend of a fortnight’s end-of-season holiday in Newquay with team-mate Graham Carr.

Dolan recalled: “We got a phone call from the club on the Saturday saying we had to be back in on Monday to find out what would happen next.

“So we’d lost a week's holiday and then we had the long drive back not knowing what we were going to do. Fortunately the club said they were going to retain us all in the Northern Premier League.”

Dolan would soon move on to Huddersfield and a career that would take in Bradford City as both player and manager. But now his football life has gone full circle.

The 65-year-old recently returned to Avenue as a director to offer his vast experience to youthful manager Martin Drury. Having been part of the team that dropped out of the league nearly half a century ago, Dolan has ambitions of being involved in getting them back in it.

He said: “In 2020, it will be 50 years since Avenue lost their league position. If we could get back there by then, which means two promotions in five years, it would be fantastic.

“I’ve seen most teams in the Conference North this season and there’s nothing to frighten us.

“But if we are going to build something, we want to do it properly. There’s a right time and wrong time to speculate and we need to do it one stage at a time.”

The original Avenue had revived Dolan’s fortunes after he had been released as a schoolboy by City.

His dad knew Avenue assistant manager Don McCalman, who invited him down for a trial. But there was a shock for the teenager when he arrived as a new club meant a new position.

“The first thing I was asked was ‘have you ever played centre half before’ because I was six foot,” he said.

“I’d always been a midfield player, or what was classed then as an inside forward, so I told them I hadn’t and I wasn’t too happy about it.

“But a week later I played my first game for the juniors, ironically against Bradford City, at centre half and scored a goal.

“I didn’t do it that long, mind. I wasn’t the archetypal dominant centre half, more like the one playing alongside a strong header of the ball.

“But people used to say I could read the game well and I’d always fancied playing as a sweeper.”

Sadly, it was a period when Avenue were being swept aside by the opposition. When Dolan made his debut against Wrexham in March 1969, they were in familiar territory at the foot of the Fourth Division.

Avenue finished bottom of the Football League three seasons on the trot and did not win an away game for the last two.

But even if the results were wretched, young Dolan enjoyed the chance to play regularly in a variety of roles.

“Because everything had happened so quickly for me, I didn’t give it too many thoughts about whether we’d still be in the league.

“I knew the club had applied for re-election before but I was only interested in playing football and trying to improve.

“We played the final game of the 1970 season at Aldershot on Easter Monday and everybody was hopeful we would be re-elected again. But again, I would think the more experienced players in the team were more aware about the situation.

“I suppose had it been the first time they’d applied for re-election, we’d have been fairly confident. But it wasn’t.”

For the fourth year running, Avenue had to go cap in hand to the Football League to drum up enough votes from rival clubs to retain their place.

Newport County appeared to be in graver danger after receiving less support the previous season. But it was Avenue dropping through the trapdoor, getting only 17 votes – 14 less than Cambridge United who replaced them.

Dolan added: “I suspect it could have been a case that previously nobody was considered strong enough to come up from non-league.

“It’s not like now where there isn’t a lot of difference. In those days, it wasn’t often that somebody went out the league but Cambridge had developed into a club that clearly could survive.”

Fast forward 45 years and Dolan can see a platform for similar progress with Avenue. Under the ownership of Texas-based oil tycoon Gareth Roberts, a boyhood fan from Holme Wood, the future looks promising.

Dolan smiled: “I didn’t take much persuading to come back. The dreamer in me thought the people involved now are very optimistic and they want to develop the club.

“That’s something I want to be a part of in any way I can.

“Around the country, people still remember the name Bradford Park Avenue. One of the things I’m trying to do is develop the fanbase and get more people to watch us.”

The next step is to get community benefit society status within the next couple of months. With the stadium owned by the council, Avenue will receive grants for more general sport use.

“The more youngsters that are coming to the ground, whether it’s on the cricket pitch or to do other things, the better,” said Dolan.

“Hopefully if they are coming here to play different sports, they will get an affinity with the place and then with us.

“If we become a community benefit society, we’ll be in a position where the supporters effectively own the club.

“Park Avenue have got a proud history which began in 1907. Look back to the 1920-30s and they were a big club.

“It will be healthy one day to have two league teams in the city once again.”