ZESH Rehman intends to take the “honesty” he learned from Stuart McCall at City into his first management job.

The former Bantams skipper is waiting to pick up the reins at Hong Kong club Southern, where he has played since 2017.

The 36-year-old has kept notes on all the managers through his career in England, which saw him become the first British Asian to play in all four divisions.

And City boss McCall’s approach will rank high in how he hopes to tackle his new role.

Rehman said: “You also learn from what they do off the pitch, their personality, and Stuart definitely falls into that bracket with his character, his energy and his passion.

“He’s had a good journey in the game since I worked with him and no doubt he has improved a lot as a manager from the early days.

“One big plus that stuck out for me was Stuart’s honesty. He’d tell you how it is, good or bad.

“I had a good relationship with him and he made things very clear. You know where you stand and that’s something I always took away from working with Stuart.

“You’ve got to have that trust.

“I started the process about five years ago with a very conscious, clear mind that the end-game would be to stay in football in a coaching capacity.

“Sometimes you might not necessarily have got on with a certain coach or manager but the sessions have been good.

“It’s a case of remembering all the good and bad and finding your own way. It’s the first step on the ladder now.”

Rehman played 71 times for City between January 2009 and December 2010 before starting his Asian adventure with Muangthong United in Thailand.

He fell out with Peter Taylor towards the end but the pair have since made up – and Rehman includes his last Valley Parade boss as another source of inspiration.

“On reflection, I would say Peter Taylor was a very good coach,” he added. “I’ve still got some notes on his sessions because he was big on shape and organisation.

“It’s all water under the bridge. We saw each other again when I was at Gillingham and he was coming in as sporting director and there are no grudges whatsoever.

Southern return to training in July before playing out the final seven games of the current season, where they sit second.

“There was no real lockdown in Hong Kong,” said Rehman.

“We’re two months ahead of the UK so we had an initial outbreak in January.

“I feel people here are far more obedient because they’ve had prior experience of SARS. So, as soon as there was an outbreak everybody was covered up and indoors.

“We’ve had three weeks of no local cases. Everything is starting to open up again, gyms, restaurants and people are starting to get out and about.

“At least we’ve got some clarity and dates. All this uncertainty right now is not great for anybody, coaches, players and supporters.

“I know Bradford City fans are really passionate and they will be missing going to Valley Parade on a weekly basis as well.

“I’m still in touch with Graham Jones on the board and the guys in the community department. It’s a great club that I always look out for.”