STUART McCall knows the high expectations that City and Gary Bowyer will face next season.

The former Bantams boss, currently out of work after being sacked by Scunthorpe United in March, understands the pressure from being the so-called big fish in the small pool.

City’s size and stature as a club will once again guarantee the spotlight in League Two – as it did when McCall took his first steps in management.

“That sometimes can weigh on people,” he admitted.

“I used to say that about Rangers. Obviously, it’s a completely different level but it was the same scenario in a sense.

“Expectation at Rangers was huge and you’ve got to be able to cope with that. It’s similar to Bradford at that level now.

“Sometimes you don’t know until players are at the club if they can handle it.”

Recruitment and man-management are the key areas in football for McCall, who can appreciate the constraints that Bowyer is working under trying to revamp his squad when a large chunk of the wage-bill is already accounted for.

It was a scenario that McCall faced himself when the Bantams last dropped into League Two in 2007.

“When I went in, half the budget was on the players that were still there – big Donovan (Ricketts), Mark Bower, Dave Wetherall, Omar Daley.

“They were good players but that was already half the budget gone. It’s not easy.

“But they’ve got a manager in Gary who has got someone out of that division and is experienced in it. He’ll know it’s about getting the right calibre of person.

“You probably need a little bit of experience to play in front of a demanding crowd. But also sometimes, young players are fearless – look at how well Lewis O’Brien did last season.

“It might be a case of getting one or two good loans. Look back at Josh Cullen and how good he was.

“I’m sure Gary wants to bring back Paudie O’Connor. At that level, you need someone who is good in both boxes.

“There are good loans out there and that’s the advantage of Bradford.

“You can go to clubs from higher divisions and say these lads could be playing in front of 13-14,000 and that will test them.

“You need good senior pros but some of these young lads will relish coming to a club with those crowds.

“As much as you want your own players signing contracts, Josh Cullen was player of the year a couple of seasons ago and Lewis O’Brien has been the best player. It’s getting that balance.”

The last campaign is not one that McCall intends to dwell on after City and Scunthorpe both went down. He was axed by the Iron with seven games left but they failed to win again.

The disappointment has not knocked his determination to get back into management.

“I’ve not lost any enthusiasm,” he told the T&A. “I’m still hungry to go in at another club.

“I love going into training and working with the players every day.

“I would never be an owner. More often than not, it’s just a way of flushing money down the toilet.

“But you’ve got to give the manager time, as long as you are seeing good things and you know the dressing room is strong.

“Yes, the results at Scunthorpe could have been better. But with what we had to pick from at the end, I don’t think I could have got much more out of them.”

McCall insists City have to put a line through what has gone wrong as they start all over.

“It’s happened and you move on. You’ve got to be thinking, ‘can we get off to a good start and kick on from there?’

“There’s pros and minuses of being a big club at that level but they’ve got to make use of the supporters because they make a massive difference when things are going well.

“Scunthorpe have got their loyal band of supporters like any club. But the atmosphere we had at Bradford was unbelievable and you’ve got to enjoy that.

“The support is incredible. If they are successful next season, they’ll be taking more away fans than some clubs get at home.

“That lifts you as a player. It certainly lifted me as a manager when you walk out and see a full away end.

“I remember when we took 4,000 to Bolton. Those are great memories.”