NEW Bradford City forward Jake Young has admitted it was the pull of Mark Hughes that was the main attraction for him at Valley Parade.

He is determined to become a regular fixture in the City side, having often been left out at Forest Green last season in favour of Matt Stevens and Jamille Matt, who were the second and fourth top scorers in League Two respectively.

And Young hopes his game will flourish now with the guidance of former Manchester United striker Hughes.

He said: “I was as shocked as anyone when he was announced as Bradford’s manager.

“At the time I wondered what it must be like to play under him and, as a forward player myself, what I’d be able to learn off him.

“Playing them a few weeks later when I was at Forest Green, and seeing him manage in this league, was quite something.

“If you could hand-pick someone for me especially, it’s definitely him.

“To have this opportunity now will be amazing for someone my age. I can pick things up that I don’t think any other manager would be able to offer me.

“That was definitely a big attraction and pulling point.”

And Young knows he is not the only one who will be inspired by Hughes.

He said: “He played before my time, but I’ve not been living under a rock so I know all about him and have seen a few clips of him on YouTube.

“You can see the pull the club has to get someone like the gaffer in. It shows how special the place is.

“Everyone is just excited and ready to go again. From my point of view, I can’t wait to get going and playing in front of all the fans in that stadium.

“It can’t come soon enough for me and I’m sure the other lads will feel the same.”

But Young knows he faces a task to get into the side, with the likes of Lee Angol and Andy Cook stiff competition for him.

He admitted: “Everyone’s training to play and get as many games as they can.

“There will be more signings. Pre-season is there to prove that and I’ll be working as hard as I did last year.

“After my first season at Forest Green, I came back probably thinking I would improve on that.

“I don’t think last season was personally what I wanted to do. Obviously a lot of that was down to the two lads who were flying up front.

“I want to be the main man but I appreciate there will be a lot of good players at the club and I’m going to have to fight for that.

“Nobody is given it on a plate.”

Young has had more time to recover than he did at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, so will be raring to go when pre-season training starts next Thursday.

He said: “It feels like I’ve had longer off.

“I had the play-offs last year so it didn’t feel like I had any time off.

“I’ve had a bit of time to myself, getting back to it and making sure I’m in the best shape possible to hit the ground running.

“Everyone’s there on merit and now I’m just looking forward to working with everyone and showing what I’m about.”