Joint Bradford City managers can achieve "something special"

The management duo are chasing a fourth win on the bounce this afternoon at Walsall to accelerate City’s push up League Two.

They have enjoyed a blistering run since being appointed on an initial caretaker basis in mid-December when Stuart McCall was sacked.

And chief executive Ryan Sparks believes the former academy pair can continue to make a big success of their first job as they settle into the permanent role.

He said: “It’s up to them now.

“I told them, ‘you can go down in the history books as the guys who saved Bradford City from the National League or you can create a legacy. You pick which door you want to go out of.’

“They are questions that I’ve raised and I’ll let them do the answering. But I’m confident that they are going to do well.”

City’s 27-point haul from 12 games has lifted them to 11th in League Two – a climb of 11 places from when they came into a relegation fight.

It is the most prolific start of any managerial reign in the club's history.

“It’s been a long job interview for them,” added Sparks. “I probably couldn’t have imagined that it would go so well.

“It didn’t take me long to relax the search for a manager. It was obvious that we had something quite special.

“Players don’t play and react how these guys have got them going if it’s a fluke. You don’t go 11 out of 12 unbeaten if it's a fluke.

Chief executive Ryan Sparks, right, at the press conference to announce the managers

"That will be put to the test - it's what the opposition will be looking at now to break Bradford City's run.

"They've done a very good job and what it did do was take the pressure off for a period. When we made them interim, it was essentially the suspension of our search.

“What they’ve shown over the last three months – not just on the grass – and the relationships they’ve formed with people has been fantastic.

“They’ve done so much that was probably not something they’d ever believe they’d do while employed as a Bradford City member of staff.

“It’s probably a very unique situation but it’s a good story and it’s nice to have been a part of it so far.”

Trueman and Sellars met Sparks to sign 16-month deals last weekend after masterminding City’s impressive win at Cheltenham. Callum Cooke’s late penalty against Leyton Orient on Tuesday ensured they made a winning start in the full-time role.

There is a different pressure on them now but Sparks is convinced both have the right personality to deal with the spotlight.

“Now, permanently employed, their situations have changed completely,” he added. “But in their eyes, they haven’t.

“They are good people and we’ve got a lot of them here at the moment.

“I think the biggest concern was that I didn’t want to lose these two guys.

“There are a lot of clubs up and down the country in bad positions and there are clubs who have got deeper pockets than us. You never know what might happen.

“But I can assure you the ink wasn’t in the pen very long before they signed. They were very pleased to be here and take it.”