NEILL BYRNE’S FIRST WORDS | News

City secured their second signing of the summer on Monday, welcoming experienced title-winning centre-back Neill Byrne to Bradford’s University Stadium.

We caught up with the Irishman shortly after he put pen to paper to find out what brought him to the club…

Q: Neill, welcome to Bradford City. How does it feel to be here, first of all, for the next two years?

N: Yes, I am delighted to be here. When I heard about the interest from Bradford and the gaffer, it was a move I really wanted to happen. I’ve played here a few times in my career and it’s a huge stadium with an incredible fan base, so once I heard about the interest it was something I really wanted to get over the line.

Q: This has built up over the last few weeks, you’ve just won promotion with Stockport, so now how does it feel to come and play for this club?

N: It’s been going on for a little while and we’ve had confirmation now in the last few days that it’s really going ahead, so I’ve been looking forward to it. I have just spoken to the gaffer and we both have the same ambitions to try and achieve what we did at Stockport last year and bring this massive football club back into League One.

Q: How were those early conversations with the manager? Does it fill you with encouragement—that you know what it takes to get out of this division? With very recent experience, can you draw similarities?

N: 100%. The conversations I had with the gaffer this morning were similar to the ones we had at Stockport. Both clubs have the same promotion ambitions. You can see from the style of play and the finish that Bradford had towards the end of the season that it is essential to keep that momentum going into next season and continue with good standards. We have to try to get the fan base behind us from the start, keep them entertained and push for promotion.

Q: How important is that, from an experience perspective? You mentioned the end of the season we had and the spells of form we had throughout the season, when we had Stockport here at home we were on a good run and had that big game feeling. Having that behind you should give you more confidence going into the season ahead, shouldn’t it?

N: Yes, you can see from the group left, they will be confident from the finish they had. You can see that the fans from the ticket sales are right behind the team and the momentum is massive in football. We all know that once you get on a winning streak, you can’t see yourself losing, so we’re hoping to maintain those performance standards from last season and start the season like that.

Q: You come here with a lot of experience up and down the football pyramid. Having that recent track record of success must really help a team like us that wants to be in that position and be successful because you already have that knowledge?

N: Yeah, that’s one of the things the manager mentioned about the fan base. People come here and really get behind the players and hopefully I can bring my experiences from the previous year at Wembley and the build-up to that and last season with the sell-outs at Stockport and the experience of playing in high-pressure games. . I’m sure every game here will be a lot of pressure from the fans so we want to be able to get that behind us and have the fans to support us using that a real plus to keep us going because winning football games is all that matters. .

Q: We know you’re a defender. For those who haven’t seen you much before, how would you describe yourself as a footballer?

N: First of all, I am a defender. I want to keep a clean sheet and with the attacking force we have here, I know the players will score goals. I also like to play from the back and try to add some technical skills as well, but first and foremost it’s about keeping clean sheets.

Q: How long are you looking forward to being here on the other side of the fence now that you mentioned you’ve played here a few times and know what it’s like as an opponent? Now, having this stadium and this fan base behind you must be an exciting proposition?

N: Yes, 100%. I’ve played here a few times and the fan base is massive. I remember playing here the first time with Hartlepool and in the warm-up he was already shaken. Having those fans behind us might just give us the extra 10% we need. It really gets you going. Having those fans from the start of the season will be brilliant so I can’t wait to get my shirt on.

Q: You know Antoni Sarcevic who also signed. Have you had conversations, with both of you being a part of a successful season together last season and coming here and hopefully being a part of that again here?

N: Yes, I played with him at Stockport and I called him ‘the promotion king’. Now there are seven, I think he has and he is someone who drives the standards every day in training. He makes everyone around him go and maintains everyone’s standards. We’ve had conversations about trying to replicate last season and replicate those feelings and celebrations because it’s something you always want to have and you’ll always remember them, so to come to Bradford and do that in front of a massive crowd it’s something we both really want to achieve.

Q: Do you have to look forward to being in the dressing room with him again and meeting everyone else here ready for pre-season?

N: It’s nice to have Antoni here – a familiar face and someone I was with last year – and it’ll be nice to meet everyone else here too. It will be good to integrate into the team with a lot of guys remaining from last season.