CALLUM Cooke reckons City have made the right move in keeping Mark Trueman as part of the management team.

The midfielder was made up when the former joint boss agreed to stay on as number two to Derek Adams.

And he believes their partnership can play a crucial role in the successful League Two campaign that the club are targeting.

“I’m absolutely delighted he’s stayed,” said Cooke. “Mark was fantastic for me and brought me on as a player.

“I want to be coached by people like that, who know the game and want to do the right things.

“I think the gaffer and Mark will complement each other very well. They are two different styles but they will both fit together.”

Trueman will get another chance to experience Valley Parade with fans again tomorrow when Championship side Blackburn provide the latest friendly opposition.

But Cooke is banking on the assistant getting a proper reception for last season’s efforts in the opening league home game against Oldham.

He added: “Hopefully, the fans give him the reception he deserves when we’re back at Valley Parade.

“At one point last season, we were on for something special and obviously tailed off a bit.

“But let’s be honest, we were in a relegation scrap before and Mark deserves a hell of a lot of praise for steering us out of that.

“I’m sure he’ll get a good reception for the Oldham game. City supporters are a very understanding bunch so hopefully they’ll put their hands together for him that day.

“You learn day in, day out in this job and while I’m only a player so can’t really speak for the coaching side, I’m guessing it’s the same.

“Mark has got an experienced head above him in the gaffer now. He’ll obviously be learning a lot from him and I’m sure the gaffer will be picking up stuff from Mark as well.

“It’s just combining those two styles to make us effective and win us football games and go on to achieve something special this season.”

Cooke can feel the anticipation beginning to build with the Devon curtain-raiser just over a fortnight away. Packed crowds in the midweek friendlies at Guiseley and Brighouse add to the sense of excitement.

“There is a different feeling about this pre-season and the expectations have been set,” he added.

“Playing for Bradford City, you’ve got to be willing to deal with pressure. You’re playing in front of 13,000, 14,000, sometimes 15,000 fans at home games.

“You’ve got to be comfortable with that and block out the expectation.

Playing for Bradford City, you’ve got to be willing to deal with pressure.

“For me, I don’t think about it too much. I just take things game by game.

“We’ve got a few things still to work on but it’s still early days. The season starts in two weeks, so I think we’re all raring to go.

“It’s so good to have fans back. It will be good to go down to the likes of Exeter and get a bit of stick -we’ve missed it.

“It’s part and parcel of football. To not have that for a full year was tough.

“The results everywhere last season were a bit all over the place because there’s no denying there is that added bit of pressure playing in front of fans.

“You saw there were more away sides picking up random results they weren’t expecting. You probably won’t see that this season.

“I’m absolutely buzzing to have the fans here again and I can’t wait to see all the City supporters down in Exeter.”

Cooke played 78 minutes at Nethermoor in the first of the midweek double-header as Derek Adams stepped up the levels of match fitness in his squad. Apart from Elliot Watt, everyone has had a proper run-out in the last few days.

“The lads are getting the minutes in now,” said Cooke. “There’s a big difference from training to playing games in terms of the match sharpness.

“Obviously, pre-season has been tough. The first couple of weeks were about running and getting the mileage in the legs.

“We’ve done that and it’s nice now to get the balls back out and work on a few things for the season.

“You’ve got to be a bit streetwise in this heat and maybe have a little bit more of the ball to take the sting out of the game.

“We didn’t do that as well on Tuesday but these games are all about fitness. It doesn’t matter about the result, it’s more important for the legs.

“They have been hot nights to play in, which doesn’t make it easy.

“But it’s nice anticipation for the season ahead seeing the fans coming out in their numbers like they have been to see you .

"We had just over 1,000 on Saturday and then it seemed like double that at Guiseley. It feels great.”