JOHN Deacey has been reflecting on his time as Bradford Park Avenue boss since parting company with the Vanarama Conference North outfit last Monday.

The club offered him an ‘upstairs’ role but the manager decided that was not the way he wanted to go after his third spell in charge.

Deacey, whose connections with the club go back a long way, said: “I think I can be proud of my record at Bradford and I’ll always have the club at heart. The supporters were always very good with me and they really got behind the team.

“I was involved in a couple of promotions and got the club into the first round of the FA Cup a few times, so I don’t think I did too badly.

"I’ll always remember the cup runs because they were special and it helped to raise the profile of the club.

“It wasn’t always an easy job or an easy club to manage. There were some dark times and some difficult juggling with the budget but overall I enjoyed it and looked forward to winning games for the club and the brilliant fans.

“I think Martin (Drury) and Jamie (Price) will be all right with it from here. They are taking the reigns at a very good time and the club will be competitive. Its time for me to step aside.”

In a club statement, chairman John Dean thanked the outgoing manager but also highlighted what is expected of the new management team.

This includes the club becoming more community based and diverse in the number of teams it runs, and developing the ladies and the junior teams will be a big priority.