WALKER ON EXTENDING STAY WITH BANTAMS | News

Jamie Walker has extended his stay at the Bantams, seeing a one-year option on his contract triggered by the club on Wednesday.

We caught up with the Scotland midfielder who discussed his delight at seeing out his spell at the club in the 2024/25 season.

Q: Jamie, here for another year. How does it feel to have the option triggered in the first place?

J: Yes, I’m excited to be here for another year and I think personally last season I finished the season pretty well. I’m excited to be here for another year and I’m looking forward to getting back to pre-season and going again.

Q: It’s a club that, not having been here for too long, you’ve developed quite an affinity and affection with, on and off the pitch. How important was it for you in that regard to make sure you stay here next season?

J: Yeah, I think there’s no escaping it. It was a pleasure to be here. I like the big crowds, the matches, they feel like they are playing at a proper football club. So yeah, like I said before, I’m excited to be here for another year. It’s one I’m looking forward to.

Q: Maybe not as many minutes as you would have liked last season. Does that make you a little hungrier? It was a similar case in the previous season as well in terms of injuries that maybe on another occasion you couldn’t have helped. But that almost makes you feel going into the next season that you know if you can stay fit for a whole season then you can have that impact that you want?

J: Yeah, I think from a personal point of view my numbers this season, the goals and assists weren’t too bad. As you just said, I probably would have liked to have played more games, so hopefully this season I can get a full season and really help the team.

Q: In terms of the impact you’ve had at the club, on and off the pitch, you live in the local area, your family really likes this club, your son goes to the local school, all those things that play in her off the field. How important is it for you back on the pitch, to feed into what you’re doing, to feed into how the fans feel about you and how you feel about them and your whole experience at this club so far?

J: Yeah, I think it’s massive, and I think like you just said, my family has moved away from football, so I think that’s a big part of being successful on the field. So like you said, I’m always open to doing things in the community. My family is settled and I really enjoy playing for this football club here.

Q: You obviously finished the season very well. A few goals, a few assists in your last few games. Again, in terms of the confidence it gives you going into next season, both individually and as a team – where we’ve won the last five games of the season undefeated in the last seven – there’s not much more going into the next season, is there?

J: Not really. I think that personally and collectively we ended the season very well. I scored a few goals and most importantly the team was winning. So I think the way the gaffer wants to do it, the line-up we’ve played in the last four or five games will be the way we start next season. So I think the foundations are there for everybody and hopefully we can continue and have a successful season.

Q: Having been part of successful teams before, promotion winning teams, all of those things, you almost look at the situation we’re in now – in this kind of transition from season to season, off-season, pre-season, with the way where we ended last season and the spells of form we had while you were fit last season, since the manager came in too – and you draw similarities, you draw comparisons and you think, ‘yeah, we’re not too far away in certain elements here’?

J: Yes, definitely. I think with the gaffer coming in, of course, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster. Some good performances, some not so good, some good and some not so good. But I think I’ve said that a lot when I’ve done press before. You know, the way the gaffer wants to work is very focused on hard work and I think at this level if you put in the hard work and with the quality we have in the group then we can really give him a good push next season.

Q: It probably helps in a way that you’re tough on the fact that you’ve worked with a few different managers here, you’ve been through different periods of form, bad times, good times, times you’ve been through. personally he played well and in good form, times when you were injured on the sidelines. It probably puts a lot of things into perspective on and off the field and gives you that hope and that confidence and, more than anything, that determination that next season we want to make it a successful one?

J: Yes, I think for me I have nothing but praise for the manager. I think since he came in, obviously, before the broken leg and after the broken leg, he’s probably been the most consistent that I’ve played in a really long time. So, like I said before, hopefully we can have a full injury-free season and be able to really test them out.

Q: Pre-season just around the corner. how do you prepare

J: I haven’t been on vacation yet, so I’m going on vacation, but I went to the gym today. I think these days there isn’t as much time off as you want. I think people keep doing their own thing throughout the season, so I won’t be any different. I try to keep fit. I know the gaffer is really big because the boys are fit and ready to go, so I’ll make sure they are when pre-season comes around.

Q: Do you almost enjoy this kind of challenge as well? You know the manager will test you in pre-season. You know it’s going to be a tough time physically and he’s going to be properly prepared for next season, but making sure you’re ready to come back for pre-season, ready to hit the floor, ready to hit next season, almost to enjoy this challenge and make sure that everything is done as well as possible on your end to ensure that we are successful?

J: Yes, I think every boy is the same. You have to stay professional in the offseason. Of course, you will have a few weeks off, you will relax a bit, but the pre-season comes quickly. As I just said earlier, I think the gaffer is huge on fitness and stuff like that. So I think we’ll go into pre-season and the lads will be fit and the ones who aren’t, the gaffer will get them fit. So yeah, everyone will be looking forward to it and hopefully we can have a successful pre-season and take it into the season.

Q: It seems to be a very good camp as far as the locker room, as far as the players. There’s a lot of guys with a really good bond and a really special bond that keep in touch in the offseason, all that stuff. How much are you looking forward to being back in that dressing room already now and being around the boys again, getting ready for the season ahead?

J: Yes, I can’t wait. I think, you know, that’s probably one of the most enjoyable parts of being a footballer in the dressing room and around the training ground with the guys, you know, it’s obviously always a good laugh and I think the pre-season trip will be. similar. So yeah, I can’t wait to get back and I can’t wait to get back to work.

Q: Finally, over 13,500 season tickets already sold for next season. The support I know you mentioned has been incredible from your point of view since you signed for the club two and a half years ago, but do you have a final message for those supporters ahead of pre-season, ahead of next season? again, one we hope is a success?

J: Just a “thank you” for their support, especially personally. The support they have shown me and my family on and off the field since coming here has been nothing short of remarkable. So obviously thank you for that. Subscriptions have again been a massive uptake so we’re excited about that and hopefully we can bring them some success next year.