Liam Ridehalgh happy with continuity at Bradford City

Mark Hughes and the Valley Parade recruitment team have not exactly sat on their hands following last season’s play-off near-miss.

Six players have been added since that agony at Brunton Park in May.

“One or two more” is the manager’s estimate for the rest of the summer window as he looks to sharpen up rather than rip up the previous season’s squad.

And that’s quite a novelty for City followers who have become accustomed to seeing mass changes of personnel from one campaign to the next.

A year ago, the new player count reached 17 by the time the window closed a month into the season.

But then, Hughes was reworking a dressing room that had stumbled along to another bottom-half finish.

A first play-off appearance in six years, however disappointing the outcome, has provided a much more solid foundation for attempting to take the next step.

For those who have signed on for more, it is just encouraging to see so many familiar figures back for the opening days of the pre-season slog.

Liam Ridehalgh, who recently penned a fresh one-year deal, admitted it has made quite a difference from 12 months ago.

“It’s important to keep the basis of your squad,” he said. “If you are swapping and changing every year, you’re never going to get that continuity.

“It is nice to go back in and see the same faces with obviously a few additions. It was not like last year.

“I was injured with my hernia as well last summer, so I wasn’t really part of the group.

“To come back into the fold, it was literally like going into a new side. It feels much more settled this time, which has got to be a good thing.”

Ridehalgh can expect some serious competition with the arrival of the versatile Clarke Oduor from Barnsley, particularly if Hughes looks to implement the wing-back system that the pattern of recruitment so far seems to be suggesting.

Season-long Brentford loan capture Daniel Oyegoke will offer a similar threat to Brad Halliday’s impressive appearance record on the right side.

Liam Ridehalgh is pleased to see City keep Andy Cook (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Ash Taylor, Kevin McDonald, Alex Pattison and Tyler Smith are also getting to grips with their new club’s pre-season preparations.

But Ridehalgh believes that arguably one of the biggest captures for City was in securing Andy Cook on a long-term basis.

The division’s golden boot attracted plenty of attention from teams in the third and fourth tier and his former Tranmere team-mate was thrilled to see him tied down for three more years.

And despite the speculation, he was not remotely surprised that Cook has stayed put.

Ridehalgh added: “I know Andy quite well now and I knew he wanted to stay anyway.

“Even if he’d got offered quite a considerable amount elsewhere, I think he’d have stayed if the deal was right for him.

“The length of the contract certainly helped that.

“It’s absolutely brilliant for him to sign a three-year deal. It’s one that I think he deserves after scoring 31 goals in a season.

“I believe he’d have definitely got a long contract at a different club. But I think it’s really good business to tie him down and Andy’s always played well where he’s happy.

“He’s very happy here and I think that will continue.

“It will certainly help to bring other players in that Andy’s staying. After the season that he’s just had, people will want to come and join and be a part of that.”