The fan in the pub sounded positively perky as he looked ahead to the prospect of Division One football again.

"At least we'll win a lot more than we lose," he announced quite confidently, "and I reckon we're good for the play-offs. It's going to be more fun than this season."

It's been a long, frustrating nine months for everyone connected with Bradford City, watching the end of the Premiership dream.

Nobody would argue that it peaked after just three days in the opening home game when Chelsea's aristocrats were sent packing from Valley Parade, tails firmly between legs.

There has been precious little to cheer about since. And the frustrated supporter was voicing the thoughts of most - next time has got to be better.

The likes of Grimsby, Crewe and Millwall don't match up to Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, but the playing field will be even. Our mate at the bar is right - City are going to be competitive again, especially if Jim Jefferies can bring in the new faces he is after.

When the big Scot replaced Chris Hutchings, he made it abundantly clear that he was not the cavalry arriving to pluck the club clear from near-certain relegation. His job was to start all over again and build for the future.

Like gutting a house, the opening stages have been messy.

Once chairman Geoffrey Richmond gave Jefferies the all-clear to begin his revamp, the boss has set about his task with gusto.

Jefferies knew some choices would be unpopular, but he has done it before at every club he has managed.

Out went luxury items Dan Petrescu and Stan Collymore, as well as terrace favourites like Peter Beagrie - such a key weapon in City's success of previous seasons, whose departure showed there was no room for sentiment.

The most controversial sales were Dean Windass and Andy O'Brien, although both left through player choice rather than the club's.

Benito Carbone, who would take up 40 per cent of the £5 million suggested wage bill, could still follow in the summer, and those away on long-term loans will not feature again.

At the moment, the rebuilt Bradford City are at the rubble stage, so it's too early to say whether they can really harbour ambitions of bouncing straight back at the first attempt.

But performances in the last month have been encouraging, and if the present team form the basis for next season, there are grounds for optimism.

Certainly the way they battered away at Manchester City - a club set to follow them down and then tipped to roar straight back - shows the Bantams should have nothing to fear from the Nationwide League.

Jefferies remains confident in following the revamp blueprint that worked so well for him north of the border. Others, no doubt, will be waiting to see the summer recruits before making up their minds.

Jefferies said: "I've said all along that the time to judge me and how I am doing will be at Christmas or this time next season. Then it will be a Jim Jefferies team out there.

"My staff have been out and about watching matches and looking at players. I went abroad again last week to see potential targets.

"This stage is all about noting things down and finding out whether certain players are available and how much they would cost.

"I've made inquiries about three or four people, but I don't want to give names yet. I don't want to count our chickens before they are hatched.

"But I can sense a feeling of anticipation among the supporters. It's been a tough period, but they can see what we are trying to do. And when we come back, it will be as a stronger club."

Jefferies is keen on Belgian striker Joris Van Hout, who he watched on his last trip to the continent, while other unheralded names being bandied about include Crewe's Dean Ashton, Patrick Agyemang of Wimbledon, Raith goalkeeper Sammy Monin and Dundee frontman Juan Sara.

No superstars there, but you suspect there wouldn't have been any this season if it had been Jefferies and not Hutchings who succeeded Paul Jewell ten months ago.

Whatever the line-up, the average age of the City side that emerges in August will be far lower than this time. One of the first problems Jefferies identified in the Valley Parade dressing room was the number of 30-somethings.

Younger, fitter legs will be carrying City's promotion hopes on a stage certainly fit for the Premiership. The rebuilding off the field has been just as painstaking as on it but there will be few better looking grounds in Division One.

The obvious fear is that sections of it could be empty without the big clubs to watch. But fans will always turn out to watch a winning team and as our friend in the snug pointed out, that will make a refreshing change.

We had our fun in the Premiership last year. The novelty has gone and the enthusiasm with it.

It's been a horrible slog since but if Jefferies can raise the side he has promised, one that's built to last, then the future may not seem quite so bleak as it looks today.