Scott Neilson admitted he never felt at home in the north.

Neilson went back to his roots this week when he joined Blue Square Premier outfit Crawley after a year at Valley Parade.

The 23-year-old played 30 games for the Bantams but said he could not settle in West Yorkshire.

“I just wasn’t really enjoying it up north,” he said. “It got to the point where I wasn’t looking forward to training every day because I wasn’t happy.

“I’ve got no regrets about joining Bradford. They are a massive club and it was great experience for me to play in the league in front of big crowds.

“But I needed to get away and when I knew that Crawley were in for me, I really wanted to sign.”

Crawley boss Steve Evans made repeated attempts to bag Neilson throughout pre-season before finally getting the nod from Peter Taylor last weekend.

The money-bags non-leaguers paid an undisclosed fee, though it is understood to be nowhere near the £50,000 quoted by sources in the south. At best, City will have got their money back for the player they signed a year ago.

Neilson had started City’s first two games but never felt part of it under Taylor, who loaned him to Cambridge United last season within weeks of taking the hot-seat.

The winger added: “I just think that every time I did anything wrong, he was going to bring me off. Then I wouldn’t start the next game.

"At Shrewsbury, I didn’t have one shot or one cross because the way we played didn’t help me. The gaffer likes to play 4-3-3 and, as someone who likes to play wide, that doesn’t suit me at all.

“People find it easier to hit James Hanson, and the other two up there are waiting for flick-ons. That’s not really my game.

“The gaffer told me to work on crosses all pre-season but I didn’t get the chance to show that.”

Neilson was thrown straight in by Crawley, playing the full game at Cambridge in a 2-2 draw within a day of making his move.

He said: “They are an ambitious club who’ve spent loads to get promoted. There was a lot of expectation at Bradford and it’s going to be the same here.”

* City’s reserve game at Sheffield Wednesday, due to be played next Tuesday, has been moved to September 14 because of the Carling Cup.