CITY owner Stefan Rupp sat down with the Telegraph & Argus for an exclusive question-and-answer session after the Newport game.

In part one of Rupp’s first interview for four years, he discusses the pandemic, Derek Adams, Mark Hughes and the WAGMI takeover bid.

Q: How tough have the last couple of years been as the owner, especially when there was no crowd income from a season played behind closed doors?

“There are much more difficult situations to be in.

“Of course, the pandemic hasn’t made it easy for everybody. But I’m here and we’ve managed to stay in regular contact with the staff, like every other company.

“I was working from my office at home in Germany, so to speak, but I was close by.

“It has hit us of course but we are still in very good shape.

“I think we found a way to measure our progress to come through it.

“If you look at the numbers today, despite the pandemic I’m still quite pleased.

“It’s not just my effort but you look at Ryan (Sparks) and the team. They made it possible.

“We were all in the same situation. But we were nowhere near a point when we said, ‘okay, it’s getting really tight’.

“For me, it was never a question of not supporting the club as I have done in the past.

“But we did really well and I can’t be more thankful for what Ryan and the team did here.

“We came out of the crisis in a much better shape than we thought we would.”

Q: What is it like seeing fans back at Valley Parade again?

“It is a total relief. As an owner of a football club, the last thing you want to have is an empty stand.

“The same counts for a fan. If you’re supporting a club you love and you can’t go there, it’s a miserable situation. It’s not a situation that iFollow can solve completely!

“I’m really impressed because if I look at what’s happening in Germany, I think the UK is ahead by two or three months.

“There’s a big crowd in the stand again and it’s really pleasing to see.”

Q: What can you say about the WAGMI United bid – and is there other interest in the club at present?

“There was a lot of chit-chat about this in the press and I won’t comment on this. We found a solution and I have put it to bed.

“Of course, if we get an offer then we look at it. But you have to have the freedom to say ‘no I don’t want to do it’ for whatever reason.

“I can tell you that over the last two years, we’ve had contact and requests asking if we want to sell the club.

“We probably get three to five per month but I’m experienced enough to know what to follow up and not. The majority of them are little more than very loose expressions of interest.

“I don’t drive it actively. I’m not trying to sell this club.

“I think I have shown my loyalty over the years. I was always there when I was needed.

“Ryan and I have been sitting in the same rollercoaster cabin for the last three years!

“We went through such a lot of weird stuff together and now it’s getting better. I don’t intend to sell.

“I’ve had to jump in the water and swim from the first moment but because of all this, my ties with the club are getting closer and closer.

“It was a steep learning curve but thankfully we did the right measurements.

“We came out of the bad financial situation in 2018 and then ‘corona’ came. Now we have the next big international crisis.

“But hey, maybe this is life. I’m a positive guy.

“When I get up in the morning, the glass is always half full not half empty. Maybe I’m a little bit too positive sometimes but it’s better than the other way.”

Q: I want to ask you about the managerial situation. Why do you feel it didn’t work out with Derek Adams?

“What more could we have done? We hired a very experienced manager with one of the best CVs for the job, we gave him a very competitive budget and somehow it didn’t work.

“We could ask ourselves why it went wrong but that wouldn’t solve the situation.

“We were lucky to find another one and we are very pleased with Mark (Hughes).

“But our intention with Derek wasn’t to sack the next manager after eight months in the reign.

“We were looking to build something with him and improve each season, to get up from this league and see where he could take us.

“We thought he had the record to do that but these things can happen in life. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t.”

Q: When did you feel it was inevitable that a change was needed?

“If you look at the situation after Christmas, something had to happen.

“What I’ve learned over the course of the last few years is that if you see something is going in the wrong direction then don’t hesitate. Otherwise it will only make the situation worse.

“It was obvious that there was a problem between Derek and the fans. You could see that on match days.

“If you read the forums and stuff, people were very upset and there was quite a divide.

“Don’t get me wrong, if you have a manager who is successful then maybe our decision would have been different. Maybe the reaction of the fans would have been different.

“We are a football club who want to be successful. We have a strategy and a vision and this is why we signed Derek.

“If you see that you’re reaching a point where you’ve got that gut feeling it’s not happening, then you simply have to react.”

Q: Derek Adams claimed just before he was sacked that City wouldn’t find a better manager. What would you say to that?

“He said it and I think we proved him wrong.”

Q: What was your reaction when you found out that Mark Hughes was interested in taking over?

“We all were pleasantly shocked. We released Derek and Ryan’s desk was full of applications 24 hours later.

“If somebody like Mark Hughes declares his interest in the job, who are we to say no to having a conversation?

“Ryan did a great job with the negotiation and getting it over the line. It’s a huge achievement and a significant appointment for the club.

“What I’ve found so inspiring is that from the very first day Mark came in, he’s a very calm person, very humble and his confidence spreads out to everyone he is working with.

“He doesn’t have to prove anything. He has achieved everything as a player and a manager and we are very, very lucky to have him.

“Maybe he wanted a new challenge? But Bradford City’s huge as a club and we are ambitious.

“Otherwise, we wouldn’t have signed Derek Adams or Mark Hughes.

“Of course, we don’t want to stay in League Two. We’re in a situation now where we can plan forward again, confidence is back and things have changed.

“You can feel that in the atmosphere. People are pleased with what is developing.

“You saw that on Saturday. Look at the squad now compared with two months back and everything looks quite organised and there is a lot more confidence.

“We are obviously disappointed that we haven’t reached our goals this season. With everything we had provided at the start, we expected to at least be in the play-offs.

“But it’s how it is. We concentrate on next season.

“There will be changes in the squad, of course, and the sooner Mark is able to begin on that and put his stamp on it the better.”