A five-point plan for Bradford (Park Avenue) can follow

He won’t take charge this weekend, instead it will be former Bantams and current Avenue striker James Hanson, on a one-game only interim basis.

But once Elliott does take the reins, in an FA Trophy first qualifying tie, he has plenty to sort out, as Avenue look to arrest a slump that has taken in two relegations in two seasons…

MAKE HORSFALL A FORTRESS

Avenue, unlike most of their eighth-tier rivals, play on an artificial pitch, and it does not take a rocket scientist to know that requires a very different approach to grass.

The ball zips along the surface, favouring a quick passing game, there is no dealing with quagmires or bobbles, and there tends to be less calendar congestion as fixtures rarely need to be called off.

Under Mark Bower in National League North, Avenue struggled in 2021-22, but their home form played a big part in keeping them up (making up 27 of their 44 points), while it gave them a fighting chance in 2022-23 (31 of their 46 points came at Horsfall), only for the side to be relegated on the final day of the season.

Bower often talked about having a style and system in place at home, which could give Avenue the edge over sides used to grass surfaces, and it seemed to work, especially as it could be put into practice in training at the ground, with no worries about churning up the pitch.

But last season, they only picked up 15 points at home and 15 away, deservedly relegated by a distance from the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

And while this term started brightly, with a 1-0 win over North Ferriby on the opening day, what has followed at Horsfall has been a disappointing draw with Brighouse, a clumsy FA Cup defeat against Stocksbridge Park Steels, and a pathetic 4-1 humbling at the hands of Liversedge.

The surface at Horsfall gives Avenue an advantage before they’ve even kicked off. They have to start making the most of that again.

GIVE YOUTH A CHANCE

Avenue have really stepped up their academy operation since now current sporting director Tom McStravick joined the club four years ago.

As the academy technical director at that point, the Northern Irishman worked hard alongside a growing cohort of staff to build up the number of youth teams at the club, while also aiming to provide a pathway for the first team.

And there have been success stories too, such as Liam Hall.

The young goalkeeper was the first member of Avenue’s “Post-Covid” academy cohort to sign first-team deal, and his ability was such that he was snapped up by League Two Wrexham last summer.

Fellow graduate Myles La Bastide proved he could score goals at National League North and NPL Premier Division level, both higher than Avenue are now.

Yet he hardly got a look in under Whitaker, and was packed off on loan to Pontefract Collieries at the back end of last season.

He is under contract until the end of this season with Avenue, so surely he is worth re-integrating back into the first team, especially with the side only having scored three times in four league games.

The same could be said about 16-year-old Harry Varley. The schoolboy striker caught the eye under Whitaker in pre-season with a stunning hat-trick against Campion, and while he is still very young and very raw, if you’re not going to play him now, in the eighth tier, when are you going to give him his chance?

Jodi Tiffany is another product who could do with a concentrated spell in the first team, while Brady Coldwell, like Varley, is another teen with talent to burn.

BE HARDER TO SCORE AGAINST

One thing that was killing Avenue last season was that they could break even the best sides down, but were shipping goals at an alarming rate at the other end.

Take that block of games at the end of last season where they were fighting to stay up.

A 2-0 lead over Ilkeston evaporated into a 2-2 draw on Easter Saturday.

Two days later they were 2-0 up at eventual champions Radcliffe, then conceded three goals in no time to lose 3-2.

Bradford (Park Avenue) doubling their lead against Radcliffe on Easter Monday, before things went south. (Image: John Rhodes.)

And just under three weeks after that, needing a win to take their relegation battle to the last day, they drew a haphazard game 3-3 with Gainsborough Trinity to go down.

While the last day was ultimately academic, a grim 5-2 defeat at Matlock Town summed up their leakiness neatly.

And while they had started this season more solidly, old habits seem to die hard, as they crashed out of the FA Cup to Stocksbridge with a 3-2 defeat, then completely collapsed against Liversedge, conceding four times on Monday when it could have been double that.

Avenue showed under Whitaker that, by and large, they had little trouble scoring goals.

With Elliott at the helm, they have to start learning to keep them out.

SIGN A MIDFIELD GENERAL

Bower’s blue-chip brigade served him well down the years, with key members of that being the likes of Mark Ross, Luca Havern and Oli Johnson.

But arguably the most influential of all was the gifted Nicky Clee, a midfielder the whole of National League North feared, and one who could drag his team-mates along with him.

When Clee left for pastures new, Bower turned to Simon Richman, the former Altrincham man a chief reason for Avenue keeping their heads above water when times got tough at the club.

They have a very young squad now though, with Craig Ellison the only first team-regular that could really fall into the category of “experienced”.

He has always come across as a leader when speaking to the T&A, a wise man who has seen it all in football, but perhaps Avenue would be well served to bring in a non-league veteran who has the experience of leading his side around the park in difficult times.

Clee is only down the road at ninth-tier Golcar United by the way…

TRY TO EMBARK ON A CUP RUN

If this sounds counter-productive to a team whose primary focus is promotion, then hear me out.

Avenue’s overheads, as a multi-use stadium, are high, owner Gareth Roberts has said as much, so any additional money would not go amiss.

FA Cup or FA Trophy runs provide that, yet Avenue never seem to get anywhere in them, meaning neither tournament tends to be the source of income it could or should be.

But it’s more than that, a cup run brings in the feelgood factor, and there is no reason, with around 20 or so players capable of playing first-team football, they cannot push on in the Trophy, starting at Witton Albion next weekend.

Wins breed confidence too, and there’s every chance a couple of successes in the cup could translate into an upturn in league form.

Even the West Riding County Cup, while clearly nowhere near the prestige of the FA Cup or FA Trophy, offers Avenue a genuine chance of silverware every season, and yet it a competition they often seem to can’t wait to get out of.

Farsley Celtic, FC Halifax Town and Guiseley routinely go far in it, so why not Avenue?

Besides after a barren few years, any success would surely be most welcome.

Other than that Mr Elliott, everything seems to be just fine…