Calum Kavanagh outlines off-field advantage Bradford City need to make more of in 24/25 promotion quest: View | OneFootball

Despite being at the club for only four months, Calum Kavanagh has made a great impression among the Bradford City supporters for his hard work with and without the ball, and his goalscoring ability. It also appears that those fans have had an impression on the player.

Calum, the son of EFL legend Graham Kavanagh, joined the Bantams for an undisclosed fee from Middlesbrough on a two-year deal on Deadline Day of the transfer window during the January transfer window.

However, before joining Bradford, the 20-year-old attacker had a prolific spell with the Middlesborough under-18s, scoring 13 goals in 20 matches. Kavanagh followed this up with loan spells in EFL League Two at Harrogate Town in 2022 and Newport County in 2023.

Upon joining Bradford, Kavanagh commented: "It feels brilliant to be here. It is a huge club with huge ambitions, and this is a new chapter in my career that I am really looking forward to. This is what I need at this stage of my career, and this club gives me a platform to progress as a player and hopefully achieve promotion."

After scoring his first goal for the club and claiming an assist in a convincing 4-0 home win against MK Dons in February, Kavanagh went on to add further goals against Sutton United, Tranmere Rovers, Salford City and on the last game of the season against Newport County.

Kavanagh on the "special" Valley Parade atmosphere

Following the conclusion of the current season, Kavanagh praised the Bradford supporters at Valley Parade for the “special” atmosphere, which was felt across the management, players, and supporters alike, as the team had a chance of securing a play-off position; that's certainly something that they can carry into next season and something that they will need if they are to be successful in 2024/25.

Furthermore, traditionally, the club holds its memorial at the stadium for the Valley Parade Fire Disaster at the last home game of the season. The players walk out to the song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ that rings around the stadium, followed by a minute's silence.

Kavanagh commented on the game: "We were walking out, and they were playing You’ll Never Walk Alone, and I just took everything in. This is special. When there is something to play for, Bradford City is a truly special place."

The 39th anniversary of the fire disaster will take place on the 11th May 2024 at Centenary Square in the city centre.

Kavanagh’s end-of-season comments after convincing Newport win

Despite failing to secure a play-off position on the last day of the season, the Bantams do have a lot to look forward to next season after finishing the season extremely well.

Supporters of the club have every right to be upset and disappointed with the season, for the most part, as promotion was the expectation. However, the club ended the season strong, and there are a lot of positives to take into next season.

As Kavanagh touched upon, the Bantams need consistency if they’re to be successful next season, and the team showed they’re capable of that towards the end of the current season. What they also need is that ferocious backing that the fans gave them towards the end of the season - it was nearly enough to help them to play-off football in 2024 and it might take them that step further in 12 months' time.

With some key additions in the summer, plus the current potential of players such as Kavanagh, Pointon, and Young to build a team around, Bradford City supporters have a lot to look forward to next season and now is the time to thrust themselves behind the side, with Kavanagh's comments ringing in their ears.