It will always be the biggest regret of Paul McLaren’s career.

When the time arrives for the 34-year-old to hang up his boots, he will still be bugged by his season at Valley Parade.

The ball-playing midfielder was supposed to be the final piece in the promotion jigsaw when Stuart McCall snapped him up in the summer of 2008.

But 12 months on, he was on his way back to Tranmere as part of the sweeping cost-cutting measures that followed City’s failure to go up.

Like Michael Boulding and Chris Brandon, he had arrived with a big reputation but failed to deliver.

McLaren played 37 times for the club and scored three but he is the first to admit that the player Bantams fans saw was a shadow of his real self.

“Without sounding big-headed, I know I’m a lot better player than I showed there,” he said.

“I didn’t do myself any justice.

“I really had a lot of time for Stuart McCall and Wayne Jacobs and wanted to do well for them. The fans were great, it’s such a big club and everything was in place.

“But there were a few of us who didn’t do as well as we should and that’s always going to frustrate me. I’ll look back on my time at Bradford and know that I didn’t show what I was capable of.”

It would be just City’s luck if the real McLaren turned up at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow.

He signed for Chris Wilder at the start of the month until the end of the season, offering a wiser old head among the youngsters that have served Oxford well in their first year back in the league.

While McLaren will be playing only his third game for the club, it takes him up to 499 league appearances in all.

The move back south keeps him apart from a newly-born baby daughter but it has renewed his football hunger after a difficult second stint in Birkenhead.

McLaren added: “I had lost my spark at Tranmere. I wasn’t enjoying my football there.

“While Bradford would go out and try to win every game, we were always struggling to stay up, so each week was an absolute grind.

“We would do anything we had to just to get enough points to survive. I felt sorry for the fans because it was ugly football and wasn’t great to watch.”

Oxford enquired in the summer but McLaren still had another year on his contract. Wilder, though, maintained an interest and was straight back in touch when Tranmere agreed to let him go.

“I’m enjoying every minute here so far. Chris is a players’ manager and I’m really impressed.

“It’s a similar size club to Bradford and you’ve got that expectation because they’ve been in the top division not too long ago.

“I’m sure people are sick and tired of saying they shouldn’t be in the bottom league.”

McLaren still keeps in touch with his former Valley Parade team-mates, in particular Peter Thorne and Dean Furman, and tracks City’s results.

He said: “The Barnet result was a bit of a coupon-buster. I think everyone had them down for a win.

“But that just shows how tight this division is. Chesterfield and the top two or three are very good sides but anybody else can get in the play-offs.”