Chairman Geoffrey Richmond thinks Bradford City's fans have been wonderful this season - for not giving him the bird.

Richmond is grateful to the supporters for laying off the team and management as the Bantams prepare to drop out of the Premiership.

And he has dismissed fears that a return to the Nationwide League marks the end of City's ambitions.

He said: "There hasn't been an awful lot to cheer about, but the supporters have been fantastic. At most clubs up and down the land the fans wouldn't have stood by a team that has had as disastrous a season as we've had.

"Until the last two games we'd only won three all season, we're the league's lowest scorers and the high point was beating Chelsea, which seems an awfully long way back.

"But the fans have never turned on myself, the manager, the players or the club. It's fair to say that, at the vast majority of clubs, things would have been different in that respect.

"I do believe there is a recognition that the club have come a long way and we've had a wonderful few years. And, as disappointing as this season has been, perhaps the goodwill that was in the bank has stood everybody in good stead."

Some fans have questioned City's prospects for the future because of the number of players shed as boss Jim Jefferies dismantles the squad to prepare for the First Division.

But Richmond points to the £7.5 million Sunwin Stand redevelopment as concrete proof of City's determination to bounce back.

He said: "The fact that we probably won't fill the stadium next season, other than for the big games or if the club are incredibly successful in Division One, doesn't in itself cause concern. That's part of it. It's difficult to have a team without re-sources being made available to the manager. And it's difficult to create the resources without the income.

"To break the mould we've de-veloped the stadium to a level which gives us room to grow into it. It gives us the ability to generate considerable amounts of income which will be the fuel for the team.

"My mind goes back to the 1995-1996 season when we announced our plans to build the stand on Midland Road. It was at a match against Notts County when there were only 3,800 spectators in the ground, 500 of them from Nottingham.

"I was accused at that time of insanity - the same thing I'm being accused of at the present time. People wondered what we needed the new stand for, and I couldn't put anything on a piece of paper to prove it. Certainly there were no attendance figures to show for it and I didn't know that we would get promotion that year and make our first ever visit to Wembley.

"But the beauty of football is that you never know what's round the corner. You can't predict the future, but over a period of time if you do the right things it usually comes right. Perhaps there is a touch of insanity, but I would like to believe there is also some vision and the ability to take a much longer view than the first game of next season."