00:00Now, Bradford City achieved promotion to League One, meaning they'll compete in England's third tier for the first time since 2019, when they were obviously relegated.
00:11They've had a lot of seasons in League Two since. They finally got that last spot with 78 points, finishing third and obviously gaining that final place in terms of going up to League One.
00:23An incredible achievement. They'll obviously be joined by one more side from League Two, but it's going to be another competitive division, another competitive season in League One.
00:34I mean, the third tier obviously saw the likes of incredible investment with Wrexham and Birmingham City dropping down, both being promoted.
00:42Can they compete with that? Probably not.
00:45So we're going to go to our Yorkshire correspondent, Dan Wales, who's got a bit of info on Bradford City's goals for the season.
00:53How important this summer window is, because, you know, you go into it, you need to lay out clearly what they want to achieve.
00:59They don't want to be anywhere near that relegation zone. But I feel the hopes for this side are certainly there.
01:04They've certainly got a great core group. So, Dan, firstly, what an achievement it is for them to be back in England's third tier.
01:13And also, how important is this summer window? Because it does represent a bit of a chance to reset and go again.
01:18They've got that core group. How many additions do they need?
01:22Do you feel that it's going to be a very important summer in terms of their League One campaign that's to come for Bradford City?
01:29Well, Charles, for a club of Bradford City's size, it's huge for them to be back in England's third tier.
01:36And to be honest, they'd probably like to aim even higher than that as well, given their history as a club in the English football pyramid.
01:43Obviously, now, though, they have to be in the here and now and in the present, and they are in League One, which, at least for the season just gone, is where they wanted to get to.
01:51And goodness, of course, they left it very late, scoring in the 96th minute of their final game of the season to secure that third spot, that third automatic promotion spot, to get themselves back into League One.
02:03But as you say there, it is going to be a really important summer for Graeme Alexander's side, one that they cannot afford to get wrong with all the financial rules that are in football at the moment.
02:12Even, yes, at this level, of course, they still matter and they still count. You can't just spend whatever you wish.
02:18And, of course, that's even more hamstrung. And, of course, funds are not as big as they are, perhaps, in the Premier League, at least.
02:25So, funds and acquisitions have to be very shrewd for Bradford City this summer.
02:31But it is, as you say, an important one because they don't just want to be surviving in League One, having just gone down a couple of years ago.
02:40Well, actually, I say a couple, a few years ago, and then been stuck down in League Two for a little while.
02:44And then, just to come back up and then go back down again, they want to survive comfortably and maybe even compete.
02:49I'm not sure how fast they think their progress can be.
02:52It depends on, as I say, it probably depends on the summer they have.
02:56But, certainly, they don't want to be near the bottom, whether they are near the top.
03:00You could argue, well, the fact that the likes of Wrexham and Birmingham City are now out of this league.
03:04So, some of the big money has gone from League One. They're now in the championship.
03:08They could argue that Bradford City are perhaps seen as one of the biggest clubs in League One going forward.
03:14So, it depends on what they can do in the market and how much they can push their weight about.
03:18And that's obviously debatable considering that they've just come up.
03:21But then they could argue, well, look at the size of the club, look at the potential.
03:24That's perhaps more what they're selling to players who potentially might be interested in coming to Valley Parade.
03:29So, an interesting summer to come.
03:32But, as I say, it's whether they can get themselves high up the league come the end of next season.
03:38And what are their ambitions and how fast do they think they can achieve their ambitions?
03:42Because there's no doubt they'd love to be a championship side one day as well.
03:46And even, you know, one day push towards the upper end of the championship as well.
03:50But for now, they have to navigate League One.
03:52That won't be easy because, as I say, despite the fact that the likes of Wrexham and Birmingham City are gone,
03:58there are still good sides in this division as well.
04:02Sides that they will have to be wary of.
04:05Because, as a newly promoted team, other seamers will probably look at them and think, well, yeah, they're a side we can get at.
04:11But Bradford will obviously not have to let that get to them.
04:14They will have to make sure that they are pushing their own way to bout in this division.
04:18And that they're good enough to do so.
04:20And so, a huge job lies ahead with Graham Alexander and his staff.
04:23And, of course, the players who are already there, they will have to do what they can.
04:26And the players who come in have to do their best as well.
04:29They've already secured the signing of Max Power to Vali Paré, which is a really good signing as a former Sunderland player as well,
04:37who knows this level of English football really well.
04:39So, that's important.
04:40But they have to keep getting things right both on and off the pitch.
