In the final part of his interview, City chief executive Ryan Sparks talks about the club standing on its own feet - and why he has eased off social media.

SUSTAINABILITY is not a sexy buzzword – it smacks of safe, comfortable and lacking in ambition.

Ryan Sparks maintains that City can push on as a club without having to take unnecessary gambles.

It is an on-going challenge given that around £1m of the budget is swallowed up every year before a ball is kicked on renting Valley Parade and its upkeep.

“Sustainability is one of our core values,” said City’s chief executive. “I want us to be the biggest and best we can be and we will push for that. But I want people in Bradford to always have Bradford City.

“You’ve seen other examples where it is under threat. There are teams in this division right now – and others above – who are living month to month and clinging on.

“I believe, and we will prove, that you can be successful and sustainable. Bradford City have proved that before and we will do again.

“It’s easy to raise the stakes once and give it a go; it’s much harder to build something long-lasting and meaningful where you can be consistent in your approach.

“I don’t want the club to run on a gamble and be dependent every year on a cup run or a player sale, which it has been.

“We have to build a football club that can stand on its own two feet. Then the football fortune, as it has for others, transforms it and propels you further, quicker. It can’t be a case of setting a budget and then keeping fingers crossed for a decent run in the FA Cup.

“We’ve set a budget this season that I know we can control and expand upon at the right point without putting the club under any threat.

“It has taken years to get to this point. We all know why we went off course.”

Fans have heard a lot less of Sparks on social media in recent weeks.

It is a conscious decision to step away and concentrate on “what truly matters to supporters”.

“I think social media has great points and I have had some good conversations there, which was particularly valuable during the early stages of the pandemic, a time that brought great challenges to communication,” he added.

“Nowadays, with supporters again able to visit the stadium, I really enjoy conversations in person. We have plenty of fans forums and we’ve got one coming up soon, which will be announced in due course.

It has taken years to get to this point. We all know why we went off course.”

“We always try our best to make the club as engaging as possible. We are up way higher on the Fan Engagement Index. We were third bottom of the whole 92 when I joined the club, we are more than mid-table now and we’ll get higher than that.

“We’ve employed new staff in this area and are doing more to work with supporters than we’ve ever done, arguably even more than when the club was more successful on the grass.

“I am absolutely desperate to give people what they really want. And that’s probably not a CEO who talks on Twitter.

“They want to be proud, see success and make memories. So do I; that’s all that actually matters.

“Is the business in good hands, being taken care of, are we sustainable and can we deliver those desires? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

“Do we need to further improve on the pitch and win more matches and thus be successful in general? Absolutely and that’s the most important thing.”

Sparks made up his mind to ease off Twitter in October after City beat Swindon – their last win.

“I got a bit of abuse down there as I was coming out of the car, which I guess was understandable following the Hartlepool loss, but not really appreciated.

“I know a lot of people who have stepped away from Twitter in recent times and that made me evaluate my own social media.

“That day down at Swindon made my mind up to focus on what’s overall the most important to people and that’s giving them success.

“I feel that some of the things I’ve said on social media have been judged as flowery, PR spin and that’s not what was intended or who I am.

“If it’s reflecting me as someone I’m not, then I don’t want to use it. And that was the feedback I had, along with comments around my words being cheap or perhaps not genuine. I would prefer to be judged by my actions and not my words.

“There is very little I have said that I haven’t followed through on, though some things don’t pan out as quickly as you would like.

“I am very much open to conversation with anyone connected to our football club and beyond. My door is always open, my e-mails are on, I regularly meet with supporters and that will never change. It is really important to me and everybody - and there are thousands not on Twitter - deserves to have a say and be heard.

“Not everyone uses social media. Those who do will often find their voices are louder than those that do not. And I don’t value any supporter's opinion more than another supporter’s.”

Sparks is ambitious with his demands for the club and insists there is no ulterior motive.

“Whatever I do here while I’m in charge will only be the right thing for the football club.

“Every decision I’ve made isn’t for me. If it was, I could have made them a lot easier for myself.

“I’ve done things that have been difficult and changed courses of careers for the football club’s best interests.

“I’ll continue to do that in any department.

“It’s my hometown club. Winning here will be one of the biggest achievements I ever have in my life.”

Read the first part of the interview here

Read the second part here