New Bradford City boss brings back Boxing Day memory

"We hope to bring Premier League football to Bradford in our lifetime. If you don't dream, nothing happens.”

That was the bold message that accompanied much arm-waving and frenzied scarf-shaking towards the fans.

Boxing Day 2016; an audience of 21,874 crammed inside to watch fourth play first in League One.

Stefan Rupp told the Bantams fans what they wanted to hear on Boxing Day 2016, but a largely disappointing seven years have followed under his stewardship. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

Graham Alexander was in the opposite dug-out that day in charge of leaders Scunthorpe.

A fierce battle ended goalless but both sides would finish in the play-offs – and see their promotion dreams ended by Millwall.

Both clubs have slipped backwards in the intervening years; City returning to League Two exile, Scunthorpe crashing off a cliff as low as the National League North.

Now Alexander is back at Valley Parade as the latest man tasked with the job of reviving the Bantams.

There are no fanciful targets beyond getting out of the bottom tier in the first place.

But if anyone knows about moving up the ranks, it’s City’s new boss.

As a player, Alexander made nearly 1,000 appearances, working his way from the fourth tier to becoming the oldest Premier League debutant.

Capped 40 times by Scotland, he was also the highest-scoring defender in English football with 130 goals – 16 more than Steve Bruce.

Alexander was renowned for his penalty prowess, converting 77 out of 85 spot-kicks for a success rate of over 90 per cent.

His career was proof that you can work your way up from the bottom tier - a case study that should inspire the dressing room he now takes over.

“I played at this level for seven years from 16 to 23 but ended up in the Premier League, scoring against Manchester City and Arsenal,” he told the Sun recently.

“When I was in League Two, I didn’t think of being a Premier League player.

“This is what players must believe. It might not happen overnight, might not happen in the next month or the next two seasons.

“But if you keep making improvements and dedicating yourself to your job and career, if you’re good enough you can do anything if you make the right decisions and show the right level of commitment and quality.”

Alexander has pretty much seen it all as a manager as well.

He has won promotion with Fleetwood and Salford, bringing them into the league for the first time, and steered Motherwell from a relegation battle to fifth place in Scotland and European football.

The 52-year-old has also experienced the harsh reality of hot-seat existence – three weeks ago he was sacked by MK Dons having won the League Two manager of the month for August.

In the same way that Rahic panicked and got rid of Stuart McCall the season after City’s Wembley near-miss, Alexander was shown the door by Scunthorpe when still in a play-off position.

Then he lost his job at Salford five games into a season sat in fifth place and unbeaten – a knee-jerk decision that club owner Gary Neville still admits to this day was a big mistake.

But Alexander has learned to ride the blows that come in such a precarious environment.

After joining Milton Keynes in the summer, he won four of his first five league games.

But an eight-game winless run followed once the club’s hierarchy leaned on the manager to switch playing styles from the approach he has always used at previous clubs.

Things came to a head after throwing away a two-goal lead against Barrow in added time. Alexander did not hold back with his post-match comments and his exit followed.

Graham Alexander's time at MK Dons quickly went south. (Image: PA)

Again, he is keen to bounce straight back and where better than in such a big environment.

Alexander has seen what it’s like when Valley Parade is rocking to the days of top-of-the-table combat.

With a 42 per cent win rate from over 450 games in the hot-seat, City fans will be desperately hoping he will be able to herald their return.

For those wondering how Alexander likes his teams to play, here’s a quote from his Motherwell spell that suggests Saturday afternoons of playing just one up front are over.

“We decided, as we have done at our other clubs, to try and score as many goals as possible,” he told Sky Sports, “to just really attack teams, to play three strikers, every game.

“I think we were the joint top scorers outside of the Old Firm for the rest of the season and picked up some massive wins to get out of trouble.

“It was more of a mindset, not to just feel our way through but to attack the rest of the season.”