Stu’s steeled for Bantamspushat promotion prize
STUART McCALL has revealed how a dressing-room summit has put Bradford on the brink of returning to the Championship for the first time in 13 years.
The former Rangers player and manager has steered the Bantams to the League One play-off final at Wembley today against Millwall.
But he admitted he sensed their dream of promotion could crumble as their form stumbled during the last few weeks of the season.
The ex-Scotland star said: “With six games of the season to go, it was still nip and tuck for the play-offs and we had a meeting at the training ground on the pitch.
“I told them, ‘If we were going to get our dream of reaching Wembley then between now and then – if we do achieve that – make sure you are on the bus when it travels.
“They are all good guys so they took the message to heart and I’m glad to say results have picked up since.
“And now we are in a position to get back to the level which this club’s fans deserve.”
McCALL has done an outstanding job at Valley Parade after missing out on becoming Rangers permanent boss to Mark Warburton.
Now he is looking forward to leading his team out at Wembley where he played for Scotland.
He added: “I j ust want them to go out there and be the best they can be. The bottom line is that we want to come back a Championship side.
“I’m sure they won’t freeze. Mentally and physically we’re really ready for this. I think the lads will love the surface at Wembley because we’ve got a lot of technical players and quick players.
“It’s about doing what we’ve done all season, nothing different. We want to have drive and determination when we’re out of possession and calm and composure when we have the ball.
“The condition of the park at Wembley is going to be immaculate”
As he mulls over his team selections, McCall knows he will have to leave out players who have helped to bring them to the edge of promotion glory.
He said: “The hard thing now is to leave a couple of lads out of the 20, let alone the 18, let alone the 11.
“That is the hard part of being a manager when it comes to games like this. I have got a lot of big decisions to make.”