Bantams defender Neill Byrne is still recovering from a gruelling week in Austria, but he trusts that his new manager Graham Alexander is spot on about the players feeling the benefit by the time their League Two campaign kicks off at MK Dons next month.

Speaking to the T&A the day after the squad flew home from their summer training camp in Obertraun, Byrne said: “It was tough out in Austria but we hope it will stand us in good stead.

“The whole pre-season has been tough, but the gaffer has reiterated that he wants us to feel fatigued going into games now, because then we’ll feel fitter and stronger once we reach the start of the season.

“He’s done it all before, so he knows everything he’s talking about.

“We were up at six most mornings and not finishing till six on the evenings in Austria, but it was good to get to know the lads a lot more.

“You’re in an environment where you’re with each other 24/7, so that was another good side to it as well as the physical stuff.”

Expanding on that, he said: “100 per cent it’s better doing this than just playing friendlies in England.

“You get to know the lads, because you’re sitting with different ones on the plane and at dinner.

“It’s a great environment to get to know each other and it beds you in as a new lad.

Brad Halliday gets on his bike in Austria with team-mates old and new.Brad Halliday gets on his bike in Austria with team-mates old and new. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

“You get to know your team-mates and they get to know you, and you start to understand each other more.

“It’s good to build those relationships off the field because the hope is they’ll then come to fruition on the pitch.”

City won a hard-fought friendly against third-tier Austrian side SV Ried II during the camp, with Byrne reflecting: “Every outing in pre-season is good because you can learn new things and you can practice all the stuff you’ve been working on, in attack and defence.

“It was a tough game to have after the intense week we’d had, but I thought it went well for us.

“It’s a win too, but like I always say, you might not win any games in pre-season, then win your first couple of competitive ones.

“Winning every friendly means nothing because the season itself is a different animal.

“Not that I’d ever approach those pre-season matches in the wrong way, but they’ll always have different outcomes, players will be getting substituted all the time, so it is a bit different.

“Everything’s geared towards the first game of the season, that’s the most important one.”

That being said, Byrne accepts that City’s home friendly against Sunderland next Tuesday is probably of greater importance than the pre-Austria clashes against Chorley and Guiseley.

The centre back said: “The Chorley game was our first of pre-season, so we were all new to each other and it was a new way of playing for some of us.

Bradford City underperformed at Chorley earlier this month, but they had only just returned to pre-season training at that point.Bradford City underperformed at Chorley earlier this month, but they had only just returned to pre-season training at that point. (Image: Max Lomas.)

“You’re still getting to know the lads at that stage, where towards the end of pre-season you’ll start to put more importance on the games.

“By this point you want to start putting the performances in and see that coming out in the game, that’s more important than the result.

“We completely understand fans want to win games but I’m sure they’ll be happy if we start the season really well, and the Chorley defeat will be forgotten about straight away.”