KENNY Black could feel it all flooding back as Valley Parade homed into view.

That match-day buzz, the special feeling in the air that he had not appreciated for a long time.

How Black has missed that drive into work.

“It’s a marvellous opportunity for us to come back to what I call a ‘proper’ football club,” said the Scot, as he settles back into City life as Stuart McCall’s faithful sidekick.

“You get the feeling when you get close to the ground that you’re actually going to the game.

“Whereas previously, without belittling Scunthorpe in any way, they don’t have that fanbase.

“Since leaving Scunthorpe, I’ve been going to games at the weekend but it wasn’t for any given purpose. I was just trying to keep my eye in and watch League One and League Two.

“But Saturday we were actually going to work and you do get a buzz. It’s something to look forward to.

“You’re driving close to the ground and see the supporters with their tops and scarves on and it felt great.

“Those are the kind of games you want to be involved in. That should whet the players’ appetite to want more of that.”

Black and McCall have not had a minute to waste since returning to the club virtually two years to the day that the City legend had been ruthlessly axed by Edin Rahic.

Every day is spent learning about the squad they have inherited from Gary Bowyer as well as getting to grips with the competition. With a 13-game season left, there is no free time.

But Black wouldn’t have it any other way as they look to restore City to their recent glories and where they took the club three seasons ago.

“People are saying it’s a case of unfinished business and we’re both delighted to accept the challenge to come back.

“Football being football, it’s obviously to the detriment of Gary. You don’t like to see any manager lose their job and it’s happened to us.

“But someone has to pick up the pieces and fortunately at this moment it’s Stuart and myself.

“The challenge is to get Bradford certainly minimum to where they should be. But the sky’s the limit.

“They’ve been a Premier League club in the past but we were 90 minutes away from getting into the Championship. It could have been so different if we’d managed to beat Millwall.

“But that’s history now and we’ll certainly try to replicate that as quickly as we can.

“You need to raise standards, like we did last time, and hopefully that can pay dividends.”

Black had left City 11 days after McCall’s sacking having assisted Greg Abbott during the handover to Simon Grayson.

“It was a very difficult time for a lot of us.

“Simon came in and I knew it was time for me to go. Glynn Snodin arrived and he had worked with him for a long time.

“I know that big Sam (Collins), Greg and Steve Banks were still there but I felt a loyalty to Stuart.

“That day at Wembley was a real massive disappointment for us but we’d dusted ourselves down in the summer and came back in that season looking to make a couple of adjustments.

“We still had good players for League One and felt there was an opportunity to get promotion. But it wasn’t to be.

“We had that difficult time in January and it was a ticking time bomb from then.”

The City they have returned to is very different and not just with the playing personnel. Black has a lot of praise for Julian Rhodes in “steadying the ship” after the damage caused by Rahic.

But he is sad to see so many familiar faces missing.

“A lot of good people have left, even when I was there, and it would be lovely to get them back in behind the scenes,” he added.

“I don’t know if there was an agenda against the ones who had been there for a number of years. But that was certainly what it looked like.”

McCall’s return has yielded four points from two home games. Black admits getting that first win under their belts against Stevenage was crucial.

“You’re on a hiding to nothing really. Everyone automatically assumes it’s a given because you’re playing against a team bottom of the table.

“But they’re fighting for their lives and we’d not won for eight games. It was important to get the result and hopefully confidence will be there for the rest of the season now.

"If the fans see the players putting in that type of effort every time, they will back them all the way.

“Obviously it’s important we get out of League Two as quickly as possible but there are no guarantees just because of the size of club.

“We’ve seen that in League One with Portsmouth, Sunderland and Ipswich. There’s no divine right to get back up.

“It’s the same with Leeds in the Championship. Every season comes round and they say this will be the one.

“Bradford are the big boys in League Two because of the stadium and what it brings to the table.

“But there are a number of teams with the same expectations.

“It’s all down to players. We can try and put things in place Monday to Friday but come Saturday, it’s important they take on board what we’re looking for.

“Let’s just see where this season takes us.”