Ex-Stockport defender Neill Byrne on joining Bradford City

Stockport’s newest signing was convinced he had broken the deadlock against City with a firm close-range header.

But somehow Harry Lewis managed to keep it out in unorthodox fashion, the ball cannoning off his face and clearing the woodwork.

“The ball came across and I was nearly off celebrating,” said Byrne. “But it hit him in the face and somehow went over the bar.

“It was my second game at Edgeley (Park) and I got the man of the match. But I remember thinking afterwards it would have been the icing on the cake to score my first goal.”

Byrne also recalls that night in January 2023 for the volume of travelling fans backing the Bantams.

Neill Byrne challenges Dara Costelloe against City in January 2023 (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Those numbers were a pull in his decision last week to follow former Stockport teammate Antoni Sarcevic across the Pennines as City’s second summer recruit.

“You could see the support they brought away from home against Stockport. It was two big teams going at it.

“You always get that feeling when you pull up to Valley Parade. It’s a massive stadium.

“You play in big grounds that might be half full but with Bradford, it’s busy the majority of the time.

“You can hear them from minute one. I remember when I was playing there for Hartlepool, you could hear the fans from the moment we came out for the warm-up.

“We were all thinking, ‘this is a proper football club’.

“Whoever can jump on and help steer this club in the right direction, they are going to have one hell of a run at it.”

Byrne, like Sarcevic, has arrived fresh from lifting the League Two trophy and is used to winning. But he can see a similar momentum with his new club from City’s storming finish to last season.

“They went on a really good run and the season probably ended a week or two too early.

Neill Byrne playing for Hartlepool against ex-City loanee Tolaji Bola (Image: Newsquest)

“Momentum’s key and it wouldn’t have surprised me if they had sneaked into the play-offs and then kicked on.

“It’s so important to have that winning mentality. There were many winners in the team at Stockport, just like I’m sure there are at Bradford.

“Everyone wants to get promoted up the leagues and momentum is key. It creates that positive mentality in and around the dressing room and the club.

“Hopefully myself and Sarce and anyone else who comes in can add that into the group.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before they kick in to gear. Hopefully that will be this season and I can be a part of that.”

Byrne had done his homework on new boss Graham Alexander before they met for the first time. Sarcevic provided a glowing reference.

“You want to know how the manager works, what his style of play is, what he’s like in and around the place, on and off the pitch.

“They’ve always kept in contact which I thinks shows the sign of a good man and a good manager.

“It wasn’t just Sarce. I know a couple of players who played with the gaffer at Salford and they only had good things to say.

“It’s a nice feeling going in knowing you’ll be working under a good man, who has achieved success in his career as well as a player and a manager.

“He knows what it takes to achieve that.

“It was a weight lifted off the shoulders when I heard all the good things. I want to work for a manager like that.”

The 31-year-old’s career path suggests that he is willing to put the effort in to succeed.

Having begun as a pro at Rochdale, he dropped down to non-league where he would spend the next eight years playing for Telford, Macclesfield, Gateshead, Fylde and Halifax.

“I made a couple of appearances at Rochdale in League One when I started out.

“But I was sitting on the bench a lot and felt that I had to leave. You can’t stop playing games, it’s the same at any age.

“You get easily forgotten about in football if you’re not playing.

“I had to drop back down to the Conference and Conference North but I racked up a lot of games in that time. Unfortunately, I just missed out on the play-off final to the gaffer’s old team Salford, which was a difficult one.

Neill Byrne beats Vadaine Oliver in the air in the FA Trophy final in 2017 (Image: Gordon Clayton)

“My big thing was to keep playing as many games as I possibly could and the chance would come to get that move into the EFL.

“I did wonder when that would happen. But then Dave Challinor took me to Hartlepool and once I was there I thought, ‘I’m going to work hard as I can to stay in’.

“I felt I was good enough to play in the league and I’ve stayed there since. I’ve played for a couple of good clubs, had that success last season and now I want to do it again.”

Stockport boss Challinor has been a key figure in Byrne’s recent career, taking him to every club he went.

Byrne said: “He brought me to Fylde as soon as he could, then to Hartlepool and again to Stockport. I enjoyed my time working for him for probably six years.

“It was probably the right time to part ways and move on to different things but I owe him a lot. He brought me to these clubs and trusted me and always gave me the chance to play.”

And Byrne had no misgivings about committing to another stay in League Two after leaving the promoted Hatters.

“There were no second thoughts. League Two is a good standard and you’ve got some really big clubs like Bradford, Notts County and Carlisle who have come back down.

“We achieved success in it last year and I’d love to do that again.

“It will be a tough season because this league changes from year to year.

“But what doesn’t change is the need to work hard on the training ground and then replicating that on a match day.

“There’s no sentiment or privileged football clubs in this league.

“Every game is a grind, it’s a tough season. Every one of the 46 games is difficult and you need to be on it from the start.

“Game one is just as important in my eyes as the last one.

“A lot of people talk about the business end of the season and that’s when the pressure builds up. But for me, it’s the same the whole way through.

“Three points matter just as much at the start or middle of the season as they do at the end.

“You’ve got to keep ticking those wins off.”

Stockport had the second best home record last term with 15 wins – six more than the Bantams managed at Valley Parade.

But winning the last three, something City had not done since 2021, has raised hopes they can finally crack it in BD8.

Byrne is excited by the prospect of playing regularly in front of the largest audience in the fourth tier.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to since I signed have all said the same thing.

“To have 14,000 season tickets in this league shows you’re at a massive club.

“People talk about the pressure and expectation of the fans but you want that.

“I remember talking to Mark Yeates when we were at Fylde and him telling me how big the club was and beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“I think it’s on us as players to make sure we entertain the fans and get them off their seats.

“They will come and watch us but it’s our job to really get them behind us. We don’t want them sitting down too much.

Mark Yeates told Neill Byrne about City beating Chelsea (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“We want to use them as the 12th man and with Bradford’s fanbase, they are probably a 13th and 14th man!

“Get on a bit of a winning run and then teams fear coming to your home.

“They fear the way you’re going to start, you come out the traps and they are already on the back foot straight away.

“As soon as we can crack that, it’s only going to be to our advantage.

“We want to attack teams from the very start and don’t let them settle.

“Do that on the pitch and the fans will make it that hostile atmosphere and not the kind of place where people want to come and play.”

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