Former Wanderers man Neil Redfearn has taken up a role at Bradford City in the club’s Academy set-up.

Redfearn played under John McGovern at Burnden Park and went on to have spells with Crystal Palace and Barnsley among others.

The 58-year-old had stints in charge at Leeds and Rotherham after hanging up his boots and recently assisted Steven Thompson in the dugout at Oldham.

“It feels really good to be back,” he told the club website. “It is a while since I played here, but this is a fantastic club with a good history of bringing young players through, so it is a great place to be.

“I have got good experience from my time at other clubs in similar roles. We have some fantastic young players on our books and it is a good time to try and bring that talent to the fore, which I am excited to be a part of.

“The experience of having one foot in the Academy and another in the first team, as I did at Newcastle and Leeds, will help. It is good to have your own identity and always nice to have your own players in the first team.

“It was only a few weeks ago I was on the grass helping out at Oldham, and this is a challenge that really excites me.

“This is a big club in its history and tradition, and we want to give these boys the opportunity to kick on and further their careers.”

Redfearn will now work alongside Mark Litherland, who served as Academy manager at Wanderers for a couple of seasons.

Litherland added: “We are really excited. We had over 85 applicants for this position, including several former Championship managers, but Neil was the outstanding candidate.

“You cannot buy Neil’s wealth of experience in what he has achieved both playing and coaching, so to have him in the building working with our under-19s is pivotal for us as a club moving forward.

“He knows youth development and the importance on bridging the gap between the youth team and first team.

“There has been so much positive work done previously, with Ryan Farrell now moving to head of coaching. We have built really strong foundations, and now it is about building on them further, moving forward.”