GRAHAM Alexander insists money isn’t everything in the pursuit of players this summer.
The City boss admits the club cannot compete with the biggest budgets in League One – with Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday and MK Dons all wealthy entrants for next season.
But the Bantams have shown they can hold their own with a strong return to the level.
Alexander is confident they will be ready for another battle with those with the largest wallets.
“We understand that challenge,” he said. “But it's not just the financial aspect.
“It's all the time that teams have spent in higher levels or this level to be able to progress window by window, season by season.
“For us to finish fourth in our first season back at this level shows great progress, great processes that we have within the club.
“We’ve got really good people that are all aligned, really supportive of each other and understanding of each other's roles.
“We are a team, on and off the pitch. That's the biggest thing about our club.”
Alexander enjoyed that financial muscle when he was in charge at Salford. But there were no guarantees of success.
“I've been on the other side of the budget scenario. I've been at a couple of clubs that had better budgets in the league and winning is still hard.
“Winning is still hard for Bolton. Winning is still hard for Cardiff. Having money and stuff is one thing, but there's a lot of hard work that has to go into it.
“Money doesn't just buy success. There's a lot of good work, so anyone who's successful deserves all the credit they get.”
City were quick off the mark in last summer’s window and had seven new players signed up before they returned for pre-season.
They have already started with the current recruitment after landing long-term target Jake Beesley from Burton – the striker joining for an undisclosed fee.
But Alexander admits it is a balancing act at this stage as transfer targets consider their options and nobody is rushing to get deals over the line.
He said: “I think everyone would like their players in as soon as possible so you can work with them.
“But I think there's also a discipline of not just getting the players in as quick as you can when you thought you could get potentially better ones.
“(Last year) we felt the players we could sign right there were really good for us at this level. We didn’t really see better options at that time.
“We were quite clear in what we wanted to do and it was a bonus getting them in early.
“There’s a due diligence we do on character references and sometimes they can be mixed. But we think in our environment, we can bring out the best in people.
“We’re not perfect either and some people don’t join us.
“It’s a good squad to be a part of and a good club to be a part of. I think there are a lot of plus points for anyone coming into it, whether you’ve had difficult moments in the past and lost your way a little bit.
“I think we can create an environment that brings out the best.”
The progress City have made under Alexander remains a good selling point in his eyes.
“Only the top two won more games than us last season,” he added. “But it’s not just in the league, I'm talking about beating Blackburn away and Stoke away in the (Carabao) Cup as well.
“There were those moments, like going to Newcastle and holding our heads high.
“All these things add up to progress as a club, progress as individual players and progress as a team, getting better and better. I think we've seen that.
“We've had our hard hits, without a shadow of a doubt. But we've shown that we can come through those with great resilience and no little skill.
“I think we're a good football team with a lot of good players.”
