New League Two boss likely to get frosty Bradford City reception in 2024/25: View | OneFootball

Derek Adams is a name that sends shivers down the spines of Bradford City fans worldwide after his spell as the first team manager for the 2021/22 EFL League Two season.

Known for his off-field comments more than his on-field success at Valley Parade, Adams has recently rejoined as the first-team manager at under-sale Morecambe FC for the third time after leaving Ross County for the second time in 2024.

The Shrimps will be hopeful that Adams can once again have success with the serial underdogs next season, despite the current off-field antics surrounding the club, which hopefully will soon be resolved for the sake of the Morecambe fans.

Bradford will likely welcome Adams back to the club when the teams meet in the league next season but given his time in charge of the Bantams, the Scot may face a frosty reception when the two teams meet at Valley Parade.

Derek Adams promised a lot and delivered very little at Bradford City

Bradford City supporters will be familiar with Adams's promises of success, which ultimately turned into nothing. The quotable manager left the club 11th in the table with only 9 wins from 37 games in all competitions, a far cry from what was expected at the start of the 2021-2022 season.

In addition, just before the Bantams cut ties with Adams, he said: “If they're going to get a new manager in, they're not going to get a manager as successful as myself. That's obvious to everyone, because my record is up there with everyone's in League Two.”

Adams has great confidence in his ability as a manager, and he can argue that his success at Plymouth Argyle, Ross County, and Morecambe previously shows his ability. Still, at Bradford, things just didn’t work out.

One argument is that the pressure was too great for Adams at Valley Parade. His success at Plymouth and Morecambe came when expectations were low, which while impressive, throws up different challenges to being Bantams boss.

However, when a manager signs the contract to take over the first-team squad at Bradford in EFL League Two, promotion is a must each and every season, which Adams may have struggled with.

Had Adams been more humble in the media and perhaps approached games a little less defensively, things could have turned out very differently and the confident manager could have had another promotion under his belt.

Derek Adams may face a frosty reception at Valley Parade

Despite being known for his various comments about promotion while in charge of the club, on the pitch the results were not good enough. The team managed to go on significant spells without wins, such as from late October to mid-December, where the team failed to win a game during this spell, managing six draws and one draw during his short tenure at the club.

Since leaving the Bantams in February 2022, Adams has seen success against his old club while managing Morecambe. Early last season, the club won the game convincingly 3-0, with Adams departing before the second fixture, which saw Bradford draw 2-2 with the Shrimps on Boxing Day 2023.

Adams has also not shied away from commenting on the club in recent times, especially on the structure of the club.

"It’s got no structure, no idea of its way out, doesn’t own its stadium, doesn’t own its training ground and has no foundation to it.”

Although there may be some truth to these comments, the fact that Adams is still commenting negatively on the club has continued to rub City supporters the wrong way, adding to the negativity surrounding the name Derek Adams in and around the city of Bradford.

Bradford City supporters will be ecstatic if the team can take six points from Morecambe next season but they'll be keen to make their feelings about their former boss known whatever the result.