Peter Taylor expects a more “grown up” Jake Speight will return to Valley Parade from prison.

City are still coming to terms with the shock jailing of their £25,000 striker, who will be inside for the start of the new campaign.

It has been a testing start to pre-season so far, with midfielder Luke Dean also breaking his leg in the opening friendly at Eccleshill.

But Taylor is confident that City can overcome the setbacks – and believes they will see an even more committed Speight when he is released.

“I think he will come back even more determined now and more grown up,” said the Bantams boss.

“The main reason I never knew anything about it (the assault charge) was because he was so desperate to go to Bradford. He knows I might have pulled out of the deal if I had been aware of it.

“But we’ve all done silly things in the spur of the moment. You shouldn’t do but that’s part of growing up.

“I’ve dealt with the under-21s and there are players who have gone on to play for England who have done silly things when they were younger lads. You have to learn from it.”

Taylor kept the rest of the City squad fully informed on Speight’s situation and does not see any problem when he comes back to the club.

he said: “I think the players will be fine. Once Jake starts playing again, we can move on.

“It was something which happened in February when he was a Mansfield player. If it had happened the other day, then it would be different.

“I told the players the truth straight away because I wasn’t prepared to keep telling people different stories.

“I didn’t know anything about it and I didn’t think I deserved to be put in a position where I was covering things up. Jake understands that and he will take his punishment and come back.

“It might sound horrible but if I were a player I’d look at the situation now and see that it gives me more chance of being in the team. If you’re a striker, you will look at Jake being out and take it as an opportunity to get his place.”