Michael Collins speaks out on his time at Bradford City

Michael Collins was Bradford City manager at the beginning of the 2018/19 campaign and won two from seven games before being replaced in the dugout by David Hopkin.

The 35-year-old is currently the Sheffield United U23 manager having stepped into the void left behind by Paul Heckingbottom, after the latter stepped into the first team role at the back end of 2021.

On reflection Collins believes that the opportunity with the Bantams came too soon for him but was keen to learn from the experience when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “I can look back on what happened at Bradford now and respect it for what it was – an opportunity that was thrown at me unexpectedly.

“A difficult situation to go into and, looking back now, I was probably too young for the experience.

“For a long time (afterwards), I couldn’t quite pick out the learnings from it.

“Sometimes in life, you have to deal with the setback and take a little bit of time.

“But that’s not how we are in football.

“We are always about taking a step forward.

“But now, a few years down the line and having gone off and done a few things, I can take those learnings from it.

“And I do believe that time has put me in a better place.

“Even though it was difficult to get my head around it for the first year afterwards and understand what I had been through.

“I feel stronger for that experience.

“It is the same message we tell these lads here about possible bad times in your career – you will come out the other side.”

Sheffield United is a good club to be involved in the youth setup of at the moment, with a desire from the top of the club to produce more players for the first team, which will enhance Collins’ reputation as an up and coming coach.

The Verdict

The Bradford City