Following our defeat to Rotherham United, the owners, directors and management team of Bradford City are in agreement that there are to be no excuses for the recent run of poor results and disappointing performances.
Stefan, Edin and the board of directors would like to place on record their 100% support for Stuart McCall and have every faith that he and his team can turn things around to mount a promotion challenge.
Along with our head of recruitment Greg Abbott, we also accept responsibility for the situation we are in. As custodians of the club, we are responsible for the overall strategy, and for bringing the right players in.
However, promotion was the intention at the start of the season and promotion is still the aim now. The recent performances and results have not been good enough and any manager will of course be judged by these two things. But we all accept that there is a joint responsibility and a pressing need to deliver new players and add fresh assets to the squad to give Stuart the chance to improve things.
Our Head of Recruitment, Greg Abbott is working hard to bring new players in ahead of Saturday, however, there are many reasons as to why we haven’t been able to confirm any new signings until now.
Greg said: “For anyone to say we haven’t been prepared for this window has no idea just how hard we all work. We've watched and researched hundreds of players. The nature of the industry is that all clubs feel obliged to spend money in January. That’s natural as it's an opportunity to strengthen.
“Trust me, we have tried and as soon as January the 1st came, our offers went in for players. Having money to spend is great but the biggest obstacles we have faced is other clubs not wanting to sell their best players and that has meant we have not landed any of our main targets. But I won't give up. This time last year we had to wait until the final hour of the transfer window to sign Charlie Wyke.
On Monday night Edin and James Mason addressed over 300 fans at the stadium outlining the vision for the club going forward on and off the field. As such, we accept it is time for strong leadership with Edin outlining how we plan to do this.
Edin said: "We have tried and will continue to try and strengthen our squad in the transfer market. So far we have not been successful.
“There are 7 days left of this transfer window. We will work tirelessly to bring in new players and crucially, the right players. We give Stuart and the team all our support and hopefully we'll be able to bring you all some good news on this front before Saturday."
We have 17 games to go and 51 points to play for. We all know that only we can control our own destiny. We must take responsibility, as a collective, not as individuals, to do so. That includes the owners and directors, Stuart, Greg and, naturally, the players.
Managers are judged by results. Players are judged by their performances. Owners are judged by their actions.
Last but by no means least, we ask you the fans to continue playing your part. Your support, home and away is always unquestionable and will make a critical difference at this time.