A lot has been crammed into Callum Guy’s loan stint at Bradford City.


The dynamic midfielder enjoyed a spell with Port Vale last term and impressed heavily, so much so that he has since made his Derby County senior debut and has swapped a Sky Bet League 1 relegation battle at Vale Park for a top-six challenge in West Yorkshire.

Within that, however, a lot has unfolded in the form of a typical snowball effect, one that has rolled at quite a pace and in such a short space of time at Valley Parade.

First there was the crippling injuries, which was followed quickly by a bad run of defeats that could not be halted. That has coincided with the Bantams slipping out of the play-offs, resulted in the departure of manager Stuart McCall and the appointment of serial promotion-winner Simon Grayson… That all happened in the space of just over six weeks!

“We had a bad blip and have just not been able to get out of it,” Guy told dcfc.co.uk.

“Until recently, Bradford had been in the League 1 top-six for nearly 18 months. I liked working under Stuart McCall and he gave me a really good opportunity.

“Simon has come in and everyone knows that he is a very experienced manager. I’m seeing this as another opportunity to showcase myself in front of him and his staff and, hopefully, I can get into the team and then stay there.”

The next question is a simple one, what’s it been like working under the new manager?


“He hasn’t been in the building that long, but we have put a lot of work in on the training ground, learning how he wants us to play,” he added.

“That’s been useful, because we have been letting in a lot of goals during this run, so a lot of work has been done on the defensive side of our game.

“He’s so experienced and it’s clear from all the promotions he’s had from this level that he knows what it takes to get out of it.”

As was mentioned earlier in this piece, Guy is a box-to-box central midfielder by trade.

Handicapped by an extended injury list, however, the 21-year-old has had to display a great deal of versatility.

Over recent weeks, Guy’s name has cropped up at right back, but you would be forgiven for thinking that he merely filled in. He doesn’t do things half-hearted!


“When I first joined we had quite a few injuries and so we were short on players in certain positions,” Guy explained.

“I actually played against Bradford for Port Vale last season at right back and Stuart thought I did ok at the time.

“Before I signed he knew I could play there and I guess it says a lot that he trusted me to play there despite the lack of experience I have.

“I thought I did ok. The manager at the time said he was pleased with me too and I ended up actually getting in the Team of the Week in one of the papers! I still much prefer playing midfield mind!”

It would have been helpful then that there’s someone within the Bradford ranks that he will have been able to take tips from when it comes to playing at full back.


“Stephen Warnock joined not so long after I did, so it was nice to see him again,” Guy said.

“He’s such an experienced player and I had the opportunity to play alongside him a few times with Derby’s Under-23s.

“He’s been a big help for me since he’s joined. He’s always talking to me, asking how everything at Derby is, and, importantly, it’s been really helpful for me to have someone that I know here.”

Twelve games separate Bradford between now and the end of the season at the time of writing and whilst they may sit outside the third tier’s play-off picture.

Guy feels one win is all it will take to reignite the Bantams’ stuttering 2018 and after starting Grayson’s first two matches in charge, he is determined to not only help them break back into the leading pack but take the step that they couldn’t take last year.


He said: “Last season, I was at a Port Vale side that was battling against relegation and now I’m part of a play-off battle.

“We are getting around 20,000 fans backing us at every other weekend and that’s so exciting. That particularly is not something I have been used and that alone shows just how big Bradford is as a football club.

“They were so close to getting back into the Championship last season, but lost in the Play-Off Final to Millwall, but we’re all hoping to take that next step this year.”

He added: “Every game is massive, we just need to get that win to end that bad run we are on.

“There’s a few games where the top-six sides are facing each other, and our aim now is to make sure we get back into the play-off places as quickly as we can.”