SIX wins, six draws, and 14 defeats. That is how Bradford (Park Avenue)'s 2020 read.

But when people revisit this freakish year, let's be honest who would want too, there will be a giant asterisk next to Avenue's league endeavours.

The Green Army should have been preparing for trips to Warrington, Scarborough, and South Shields in a bid to bounce back to the second level of non-league.

Instead, they were given a lifeline in the grimmest of circumstances.

Covid-19 drew the 2019-20 season to a close nine games early. While the top five tiers' points-per-game systems produced relegation, some more merited than others, the Vanarama National League North avoided such causalities due to the campaigns of Steps 3-7 being expunged.

A stroke of luck for a club who had experienced a torrid time. Let's be frank, Mark Bower returned to the helm in October 2019 to man a sinking ship.

Only four victories, surprisingly including Chester and champions Kings Lynn Town, followed as Bradford finished rock-bottom, 14 points below safety. A rebuild had to take place in the summer if a chance of straying away from the drop was possible in the next term.

Make no mistake, the extended off-period was put to good use.

Martin Knight's arrival back in April was a sign that chairman Gareth Roberts was ready to put someone strictly in charge of footballing matters, allowing him to crack on with finishing the Horsfall project. Of which the Texas-resident did with great success.

June marked a significant chapter in Avenue's history. The 35-year lease of the stadium was agreed and work to install a new 3G artificial pitch began.

Meanwhile, Knight was busy recruiting sponsors and a squad ready to face an uphill battle. Perhaps, the biggest signing of them all was that of Mark Bower and Danny Boshell on a three-year deal. Against the odds, the hometown boys had reached successive playoff finals in their first tenure.

Fast forward a few months and the new facility was ready for the start of a very different season. There would be no grand opening as fans were sentenced to watching their team via online streams, each with various levels of success.

Although we should be grateful matches can even take place behind closed doors to grant some sort of normality in these restricted times.

The first of them saw a new/old-look Bradford lose out narrowly in the FA Cup. Defensive pair Luca Havern and Mark Ross returned while former Leeds United products Matty Downing, and Dan Atkinson were also signed to prop up a largely unchanged squad who had something to prove.

Despite Spennymoor Town winning on that day and the hosts losing their first two league fixtures, there was a freshness about Bower's team which was evident in them going unbeaten in their next four.

Consecutive home defeats could have rocked the boat, but no their mentality stood strong to go on another mini run which ended in a glorious 4-2 win over York City, arguably the result of the year.

The team that started on Boxing Day is the polar opposite to those easily pushed aside 12 months previous. Lewis Knight, Isaac Marriott, £1-a-week man Adam Nowakowski and Mitch Lund have all enjoyed a new lease of life alongside Harry Boyes and Regan Booty's introductions.

If anything, it’s a reflection of how far Park Avenue have come, from the dismal prospect which faced them at the start of the year to a side ready to fight for every point and make the absent Horsfall faithful proud.