O'Donnell's views on his different Bradford City managers

The keeper made 137 appearances – and worked under seven different managerial regimes.

As he prepares to embark on the next stage of his career with new club Rochdale, here are O'Donnell's views on the men who occupied the Valley Parade hot-seat in his lengthy spell at Valley Parade.

MICHAEL COLLINS

Michael Collins was only given a brief time in charge after signing Richard O'Donnell

“I spoke to Micky Collins and Dru (Martin Drury) and their plans were exciting.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t last so long under them. I feel that if they had been given a decent shot at it, things might have changed.

“But they were never going to get the opportunity to do that with the way the club was being run at the time.

“It wasn’t an ideal situation all round. The chairman was very involved in the day-to-day running of the club, he was around the training ground a lot and trying to dictate towards the team.

“You had the feeling that Edin wanted to be doing a lot more than he should which wasn’t really fair on Micky or Dru. They didn’t deserve that.

“I always remember the picture going round on social media from Southend away when Edin was leaning over the dug-out to speak to them both at half-time.

“I heard bits about before I signed and how Edin was trying to change things at the club. As a player, when you come into a new club you don’t really look at that.

“But it was a strange time and they didn’t get too long in the job. If they had done, they might have turned it around.”

DAVID HOPKIN

David Hopkin changed City's playing style to a more direct approach

“It was a totally different style of football. Having been told to play it out from the back before, Hoppy wanted to get the ball forward and play in the final third at the other end.

“But if that was how he’d had success as a manager, then obviously that’s how you’ll play. You work with that philosophy.

“He was very straight to the point and told you what he expected and I enjoyed working under him.

“We had a difficult day at Gillingham early on. I saved a penalty but we had a lot of injuries, Connor Wood was playing right back and Thomas Isherwood left back.

“It was a bit of a mix-and-match team and there were rumours that he was going to walk away after that.

“But he stayed a bit longer and we had a great period around Christmas time. We weren’t in the FA Cup third round and he told us if we were out the relegation zone by then, he’d give us five days off.

“We did that and had the break just after new year. But then we went to Barnsley and got beaten and went on a bad run after that.”

GARY BOWYER

Richard O'Donnell enjoyed his time playing under Gary Bowyer

“There was a lot of optimism when Gary came in because he was very well liked within the club. He was a good guy.

“But the fans didn’t appreciate the style of football that he played. They expect and demand a certain way of playing and if that’s not happening and the results aren’t going well, then they let people know.

“That’s no different to any other set of fans – apart from the fact there are 15 or 16,000 of them.

“I was injured and missed the game at Mansfield when it was uncomfortable to be a part of in terms of the atmosphere.

“He brought me straight back against Oldham and, unfortunately, we were very below par that day.

“Gary had just had the January window and signed a few players the day before. We wondered if he’d be given more time but that result cost him his job and we moved on again.”

STUART McCALL

Stuart McCall's return lifted Valley Parade before the pandemic struck

“I can’t describe enough what a great guy Stuart is. He would literally do anything for his players and was brilliant to work for.

“The atmosphere for his first game against Grimsby showed that he was a club legend. He gave the place a massive lift.

“That summer with the pandemic was tough for everyone. I was out of contract but Stuart made it clear he wanted to keep me.

“It was a very strange time. I was constantly on the phone for two or three months to the PFA, to the club and Julian Rhodes trying to keep the lads informed with what was going on with their jobs.

“Even the lads in contract didn’t know if they were going to get paid in full – or at all. Julian once rang me about asking us to take a deferral and I spent the day on the phone trying to sort that out.

“We agreed to do it but then Julian luckily found a way that we didn’t have to. But the lads understood the situation and would have done it for the club.

“Playing behind closed doors was bizarre. We knew there were three points on the line for every game but it just wasn’t the same buzz.

“It was tough for everyone, us as players, Stuart and for the fans as well. They were brilliant paying for a season ticket when they weren’t going to be there and supporting the club through iFollow made a massive difference.”

MARK TRUEMAN/CONOR SELLARS

Conor Sellars and Mark Trueman made City harder to score against

“They took us right back to basics in terms of our shape and keeping it simple. Defensively, we weren’t shooting ourselves in the foot by playing balls around the back that weren’t necessary.

“They made us narrow and hard to beat and on the back of that we had some good attacking players who could win us games.

“We went on a great run with them and deservedly they got the job full time. They had the full backing of all the lads.

“It was frustrating to miss out on the play-offs as we did after giving ourselves a chance pretty much out of nowhere.

“They got us within touching distance and then fell away right at the end. We lost six of the last games of the season which was unacceptable and ultimately cost them the managers’ role.”

DEREK ADAMS

Derek Adams put City through "one of the toughest" pre-seasons Richard O'Donnell has known

“I don’t think anyone at the time was disappointed at the appointment. You look at his CV and what he’d achieved and we felt the same as players.

“Pre-season was very tough. We were on the track at Bradford (Park Avenue) every afternoon for the first week.

“It wasn’t my cup of tea but the lads did well with it and we all pulled together to get through.

“Derek wouldn’t say who would be his first-choice keeper until the day before the first game.

“Sam (Hornby) and I literally shared all the pre-season friendlies. Even the last one when you normally get an idea who’s going to play, we shared that game.

“It was a boost for me to get the shirt to start with but I knew I needed to play well to stay in the team because it was so close.

“When I did lose my place at the end of November, I always thought there might be a way back in. But that obviously changes when the months go by.

“It was a totally different story in January when Bassy (Alex Bass) came in on loan. At the time, all three of us were still there and everything was up in the air.

“Some things popped up for me that weren’t right and I didn’t want to leave.

“It was spoken about and there were a few enquiries. I was a bit disappointed one didn’t come off when it changed last minute but another wasn’t right for me personally.

“Knowing I was out of contract in the summer, I didn’t want to rush into anything in case I wasn’t in the plans at Bradford next season.

“I ended up staying and Sam got his opportunity to go, which I was pleased about because he wanted to go and play games.

“I didn’t want to leave the club just for the sake of it. It wasn’t like I was at a place where I didn’t enjoy myself.”

MARK HUGHES

Richard O'Donnell is backing Mark Hughes to do a "brilliant" job next season (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“The first we knew about it was when we saw him driving into the car park. It was all very surreal.

“Everyone knows about Mark Hughes and what he’s done as a player and where he’s been as a manager. Straight away he’s got total respect in the dressing room.

“He’s one of those people who walks into a room and has that presence of someone who’s been there and done it.

“We spoke pretty regularly and I enjoyed his sessions and how he was around the lads.

“Obviously I was disappointed I didn’t get an opportunity to play in front of him. That was the only downside for me that I didn’t get that chance to try and earn a contract.

“But he had his reasons and I respect him for what he’s done and for being honest with it all. I’m sure he’s going to be brilliant for Bradford next season.”