STUART McCall described Romain Vincelot as an “exceptional captain and leader” for City – but admitted he knew nothing about the Frenchman when he signed.

Vincelot returns to Valley Parade on Saturday with new club Stevenage – the first time he has faced the Bantams since leaving in 2018.

The 34-year-old led out McCall’s side in the League One play-off final loss to Millwall the season before and played 94 times for the club.

But McCall revealed he was in the dark about Vincelot when City brought him in on Greg Abbott’s advice.

He said: “I didn’t really know who Romain Vincelot was when we agreed to sign him.

“I’d heard of him but I’d been up in Scotland before I came back into Bradford the second time so didn’t know that much.

“I did a little bit of homework but it was Greg’s contacts in Coventry that knew all about him.

“But from the minute I met him, I was really impressed with his character, his determination and drive. You could see with the way he conducted himself and his professionalism.”

McCall handed Vincelot the skipper’s armband before his first season back at the club – and then switched him to centre half from midfield to cover a shortage in the middle of defence. It was a move that worked out very well for City.

“Romain had played there before but not regularly,” added McCall. “But it was seamless.

“We’d had a couple of injuries prior to the first game of the season.

“We obviously knew Rory (McArdle) was going to be out and then Nathan Clarke got injured.

“Timothee Dieng, who would have gone back in there, got an injury on the Thursday or Friday.

“I put Romain back there and him and Nat (Knight-Percival) formed a really good partnership.

“He’s obviously got a good spring, reads the game well, can bring the ball out of defence, he’s a good talker and organiser. He did a great job for us.

“He could also come up with a goal from set-pieces. I remember him getting one down at Peterborough and another late equaliser against Oxford.

“Romain was not just strong defensively but good in both boxes.”

There will once again be no fans at Valley Parade and McCall believes Vincelot is missing out on a good reception from the City faithful who appreciated his contribution.

“I would like to think so. He had a good song about him and used to enjoy humming that to himself!

“I remember the player of the year do when he’d had a couple of beers. I think he started the song off himself!

“Romain was a popular lad. Once l left the club, it was disappointing to see what happened with him.

“But I’d like to think he would look back on his time here with good memories. He was an exceptional captain and leader of the club.”

Vincelot joined Stevenage during the summer after a year out with a serious hip injury. He had the same surgery as Andy Murray to fight his way back.

McCall said: “When somebody’s been out that long, it’s just good to see them back playing on the pitch and involved again.

“Romain doesn’t seem to have lost any of his enthusiasm for the game, which is great.”