Julian Rhodes today broke his silence on the world's worst-kept secret and confirmed: Yes, Stuart McCall is our new boss.

Rhodes spoke to reassure any doubters among the club's jubilant fans that City really have got their man, as exclusively revealed on our website on Thursday afternoon.

"In light of intense media speculation, I'm delighted to say that the new manager is Stuart McCall," said the Bantams chairman.

"We weren't going to announce it until early June when he will be unveiled properly but some people have been getting a bit nervous so we thought something should be said.

"It's out in the open now and everybody can look forward to Stuart returning."

Wayne Jacobs is also expected to come back to Valley Parade as McCall's assistant manager.

The 38-year-old has been at Halifax as number two to Chris Wilder since leaving City in 2005. It is thought he is still under contract but the Shaymen, who are busy preparing for a possible take-over this week, are unlikely to stand in his way.

Jacobs, who still lives locally, made more than 350 appearances in the claret and amber during an 11-year spell and was granted a testimonial match against Bolton in 2004. He played his final City game the following April in a 4-2 win over Bournemouth, receiving a standing ovation from the Valley Parade crowd when he came off the bench for the last six minutes.

Jacobs enjoyed a dream start at The Shay as Halifax shocked the Conference big boys by making it all the way to the play-off final on a shoestring budget. They lost a thrilling showdown 3-2 to hot favourites Hereford at Leicester's Walkers Stadium.

But with expectations raised, Halifax were unable to repeat that success last term. They never recovered from winning only one of the opening nine games and, despite having the third best home record in the division, the Shaymen only just managed to scramble clear of the drop.

Jacobs is very much a hands-on assistant, taking a lot of the training sessions and getting actively involved in the scouting.

A source close to The Shay confirmed: "Wayne always seems well informed about everything going on. He is very committed about his work as you would expect from the way he played."

Jacobs and McCall amassed more than 700 league appearances for City between them and have always maintained close ties with the club.

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