Rory McArdle reckons that delivering promotion is payback to Phil Parkinson for his City overhaul.

The Northern Ireland international was the second of the ten signings Parkinson made last summer to transform a side who had finished seventh from bottom in successive seasons.

Parkinson vowed to change the defeatist mindset he inherited in the dressing room by bringing in proven “winners” – and that strategy was emphatically backed up with a double Wembley appearance climaxing in play-off glory.

McArdle said: “The gaffer brought in a lot of new faces and it was important that we showed the same faith that he’d had to sign us. I think we’ve done that with the performances this season.

“He’s made such a big impact on the club. I obviously wasn’t here when he first came in but he kept the club up and then this year has been nothing short of spectacular.”

The 64-game season was a club record and McArdle started more of them than anyone else in Parkinson’s squad. He began 53 matches, an impressive tally that was beaten by only five other outfield players in the entire Football League.

Having kicked off the campaign at right back, he reverted to his regular role at centre half following Luke Oliver’s season-ending injury in October – and established himself as one of the first names on the City team sheet.

Not surprisingly, McArdle welcomed last week’s news that Parkinson has tied himself to the club for a further three years.

He added: “For him to secure his future here gives everybody that extra bit of confidence going forward. It brings stability to the club.

“You look at the number of managers who have passed through the doors at Bradford in recent years. It happens at a lot of places and that can’t be a good thing.

“People don’t work miracles overnight but the gaffer has changed things round here and done really well. To have got to Wembley twice has been amazing and we’ve got that platform to build on for next season.

“Knowing that the gaffer’s going to be part of that is a huge lift for everyone.”