On Parade with John Hendrie

In past summers, this time of year is spent banging the drum with City telling supporters how next year is always going to be a special one.

But they have been empty promises, with the season never working out the way you wanted.

This year is the complete opposite. There is no better time for a City fan to get behind their club than now.

The past few months have brought the feelgood factor back – not just to the football club but the city as a whole.

Driving back from Wembley, I saw so many cars with City scarves hanging out and what struck me was the number of different cultures and nationalities.

It’s pulled everyone together, which is incredible in this difficult financial climate. But sport always seems to be able to do that.

And now we can approach the new season and new division with genuine hope. There is a real conviction behind the club.

I’m not going to build up expectations too soon and put the boys under pressure but I genuinely think City will do all right in League One. They’ve got a core of a very good squad.

Because of the amount of games they’ve had, Phil Parkinson has had to use everyone. People talk about team spirit but in City’s case it’s been squad spirit that has got them through.

They’ve had to rest players so others have come in to take their place and the squad has been phenomenal.

The ones who’ve been left out haven’t spat the dummy out. They’ve waited for the chance and then fitted in like a glove.

The hardest part of management is keeping those who aren’t in the team happy. You get one or two bad apples and it can upset everything.

But you’ve not seen any sulking from anyone. They’ve supported their team-mates on the pitch and have also come up with the goods when needed.

Players like Alan Connell, with his goals in mid-season, and Ricky Ravenhill doing such a good job in midfield during the run-in have demonstrated the strong spirit within the squad.

Mark Lawn recently mentioned the spirit of 1985 and I could live to be 100 and never see that recreated. The tightness of that team was incredible.

But we only had about 13 or 14 players. City’s squad last season was much bigger.

I always talk about spirit but it is such a driving force behind any successful football team.

Why did Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup? Why did Yeovil go up to the Championship the other week?

Nobody at the start of last season would have given them a prayer of getting promoted. It’s all down to spirit – and it’s a massive factor.

City will go into the new season with momentum and with that winning spirit. If they can keep that, then there’s no reason why they cannot have another good year.

They’ve played Brentford in the FA Cup and taken them to two games and beat Notts County at the start of the season. They’ve got absolutely nothing to fear.

Phil’s looking to bring one or two in to add a bit of quality and that just freshens it up. New faces give the other boys an added spark.

But they’ve got to be the right types. You don’t want to upset that character within the dressing room.

It’s important you do the homework on people coming in and we know that Phil always does that.

I’m very optimistic going forward and it’s great that everyone feels so positive about City again.

l John Hendrie, who is a consultant for LawBlacks.com, was talking to Bradford City reporter Simon Parker.