“I loved it there, finances were tight when we were playing but every other week it felt like playing a championship game.
“The crowd are excellent, I have a good rapport with them, got a lot of respect with them, and it’s a club I like to see doing well.”
Cheltenham Town manager Michael Flynn reminisced over his time spent at Bradford City as his side gear up to travel to the University of Bradford Stadium in League Two this week.
The Bantams have seen a huge turnaround since sitting in 12th around Christmas to now being in 2nd, Flynn offered his thoughts on what has lead to the resurgent run;
“They’ve been patient, they stuck with Graham (Alexander) and now he’s got them firing, the crowd will be huge, it’s a good club, a big club, and they’ll be giving everything to get out of the division.”
Graham Alexander heaped praise on the commitment and discipline of his side after yesterday's win. 💬#BCAFC | @PethBassSols
— Bradford City AFC (@officialbantams) March 2, 2025
Playing in front of 25,136 may be a daunting task for some of Cheltenham’s younger stars like Jordan Thomas.
Flynn spoke from experience, having made 100 appearances for Bradford, on the feeling of playing in front of the large crowd, as well as promising to keep a keen eye on his players;
“There’s no better feeling than going into these big stadiums, good atmosphere. None of us want to be playing Infront of 2-3 thousand, we want to be playing in front of 20k and more.
“There is no hiding places with all the tech and cameras, the amount of analysis, they know I’ll be on them.”
The Bantams biggest threat, Andy Cook who had 15 in 29 before injury, is a doubt for the game and Flynn was quick to offer sympathy as well as sharing Cheltenham’s own injury woes;
“I thought he’d be a big miss for them but they’ve rallied, Mellon scored Saturday, Pointon is a very good player, they have goals in them everywhere.
“We’ve had two big injuries Harry Pell and Ryan Haynes, it’s not nice but it happens and I wouldn’t wish it on any player, all those dark days when you’re training on your own and you cant see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We’ve got a good medical staff here and good lads, they really rallied and helped carry them on, as I’m sure they have at Bradford as well.”
Bringing the noise again 👏
— Cheltenham Town (@CTFCofficial) March 2, 2025
Thank you for your support yesterday. Back home next Saturday but first a trip to Valley Parade!#ctfc♦️ pic.twitter.com/ZIuIy0Hrxa
Looking ahead to the fixture, Flynn highlighted the recent pattern of late goals in the league with Bradford winning in the 94th minute in their last game and Cheltenham having recently pulled off a miraculous draw against Wallsall with two goals coming in injury time.
The Robins manager also commented on how difficult a win would be to take from in-form opposition;
“With all the playing out from the back there’s a lot more risk taken, more time being added on and that brings more excitement for the spectators, for me I’d rather get the job done earlier.
“It’d be an unbelievable result, but also a lot of hard work needs to go into it. We’ve got to cut down our mistakes and switch on the entirety of the game, no lapses in concentration or silly mistakes, we have to be on it, and if we are we’ll give anybody a game.”
