MARK BOWER wouldn’t have had his opportunity at boyhood club Bradford City hadn’t it been for his loan spell with York City; something he remains grateful for.

The former defender and manager currently finds himself enjoying time away from football after leaving Bradford (Park Avenue) in November, having spent time playing in York colours and managing in the opposition dugout at the LNER Community Stadium across a distinguished footballing career.

But Bower believes he would have never gained an opportunity in the first-team of boyhood club Bradford City if it hadn’t been for his time with York, in which he made 36 first-team appearances to help keep the Minstermen safe in the Third Division between 1999-2001.

“I don’t think I would have gone on to play as many games as I did for Bradford City without that loan, it was very valuable for me,” Bower told the Press.

“I went back after my first spell and Bradford had stayed in the Premier League so they were looking at me going back out on loan to York.

“But there was a managerial change at Bradford and he wasn’t letting anyone out at that stage so I had to stay at Bradford.

“But then there was another managerial change at Bradford and he was happy for me to go out down to York for a second season and for a longer spell, and it took me a few weeks to get going and to get back to the same level I had been at in the previous season.

“When I went back to Bradford from that they were in the Championship and had lost a bit of their team, so because of that experience I had had with York they gave me some games, because they knew I could perform at a high level.”

Bower also spoke on how his first move to York came about, which included playing in a defence alongside former City players Alan Fettis and Peter Swann, who ensured that Bower was making the most of his loan experience.

“Bradford City just got promoted to the Premier League and I was never going to be involved, was never going to get on the pitch and play a part at that stage with the way they were going.

“The next best thing for me was plenty of youth team games, reserve games and a loan move where I could play some proper football league games.

“Terry Dolan was the reserve manager at Huddersfield just before he got the York job, and we played them just before he got that York job.

“I think he’d seen me there, I was one of his first signings when he got the job at York and the club were in a bit of trouble at the bottom end of the table, so I came in for February onwards and it was really good for me was the spell at York.

“I didn’t know Terry at all personally but when I was younger and watching Bradford City he was the manager there, so it was a nice thing for me to go and play under a manager that I had grown up watching his teams play.

“He gave me that platform to go and play, enjoy my football and to help the team out as much as I possibly could.

“(Fettis) is a really, really good goalkeeper, I played with some good players in my spell there.

“We had Alan Fettis, Peter Swann who was there in my first spell with the club, we had proper experienced pros who had played at a much higher level.

“That was really good for me to play in and amongst those guys, they demanded really high standards and wouldn’t let up, they’d go about their business and it was tough to be involved in!

“But it really helped me and I like to think that my performances helped them too.”

Bower also paid homage to City’s former stadium Bootham Crescent, where he netted his first senior goal in a 2-0 victory over Lincoln City in March 2000.

“It was great, I think I hit the post in my first home game in a 0-0 draw," Bower reminisced.

“It was an important goal at the time, we needed a win so to get my first professional goal at that stage in front of the home fans at the old ground, it was a nice feeling to play my part in an important win.

“I loved it, it was a big old pitch and it had a bit of an aurora about it.

“It was quite a characterful ground when you went down into the dressing rooms and I didn’t want to go anywhere else really when I came back, because I really enjoyed that old school ground compared to the same old, same old grounds that you get now.

“I loved it there, the smell, the old school feel to it, I really enjoyed it.”