DAVID Hopkin’s spell as a City player may have been brief and not a particularly happy one.

A nasty ankle injury just a couple of months in restricted him to a largely watching brief as the club’s second season in the Premier League swiftly went down the pan.

He had already returned to former club Crystal Palace by the time their place in the top flight had been put out of its misery.

But Hopkin’s links with Yorkshire were never severed. And 18 years on, as he builds up to his first appearance back at Valley Parade as head coach, that’s why he feels like this represents something of a homecoming.

“I’ve still got a house in York and we visit regularly,” he said. “Coming back here just feels like coming back home.

“We’ve got a real affinity with the area because we lived here and obviously I also played at Leeds as well as Bradford.

“It’s fantastic to be back. It feels comfortable.

“Yorkshire people are just very similar to Scottish people.

“They demand high standards. They are working all week and need to be coming here knowing they will see something on the park.

“It’s always been about heart and passion and hopefully I can install that into the team. Make sure we all go home on a Saturday happy because that’s the main thing.

“If we can build something here, then we can take it forward.”

Hopkin’s initiation in the City dug-out was an ultimately painful one at Blackpool. With six minutes left, everything was set up for a morale-boosting victory but then it all went spectacularly wrong.

That shocking finale at Bloomfield Road, watching as the home side plundered three late goals to snatch the points, will only strengthen his resolve in the preparation for the upcoming visit of Charlton.

While the rumbles off the field continue to grow louder against the owners, Hopkin knows the real focus will always be on what happens on the pitch. A travelling army of more than 1,800 City fans on the wet west coast on Saturday was testament to that.

He added: “It’s a football club first and foremost and everything else will take care of itself. I’m very clear on that.

“It’s my job to make sure that everybody’s together.

“If it’s not right on the pitch, then the fans get on to me. Then they go on to the owners and ultimately the head coach or manager goes.”

Valley Parade may look different to the half-built stadium where he briefly plied his trade as a no-nonsense midfielder. But the former Scottish international stresses the importance of making it a place where away teams once again fear to tread.

Memories of the Wycombe surrender under Michael Collins still remain fresh in Bantam minds.

Hopkin said: “It’s my job to make sure things function on the pitch, to make sure the fans are behind us, which they will be. Then we just need to keep going and turn this into a fortress.

“When I came here and played, if you played against Bradford, you knew you were coming into a very tough game. That’s what we’ve got to get back to.

“You can do that with kids and with older players. If the structure is right and the organisation, then hopefully we’ll start to turn and climb up the league as quickly as we can.”

Injuries are limiting Hopkin’s hand as he looks to rebuild fragile confidence. But a look at his past coaching CV shows why he is confident about working with youngsters.

“It’s having a clear vision how to coach,” he said. “I’ve been coaching for the last 10-11 years consistently.

“I started at a junior level, which is like non-league, and had success there, won leagues and cups.

“Then I moved on to Morton, where they asked me to start up the youth development. I was successful bringing through young players there.

“They didn’t have a young player playing for them, then within 18 months they had nine or 10 boys who had made their debut. Five or six are still playing in the Championship in Scotland.

“I was given the opportunity to go to Livingston with Mark Burchill. I was there three-and-a-half years, two-and-a-half as head coach and had a very successful time.

“I managed to get the best out of the players with coaching, fitness work, organisation, belief, and a togetherness with them and the fans.

“We went from League One to the Premier League now and they are still doing very well. That’s what can be achieved.”