From the Valley to Valley Parade, former Addicks boss Holden is understood to be keen on taking the League Two job.
Dean Holden, a former manager of Charlton, is one of the candidates for the position at Bradford City, who are very interested in the opportunity to fully realize the potential of a League Two sleeping giant.
Holden has reportedly spoken to the Bantams and is one of several possible options they are considering after firing Mark Hughes at the beginning of the month as the team struggled in League Two, finishing in 18th place.
While interim manager Kevin McDonald has held the fort at Valley Parade with remarkable performance, the club has not been in a rush to name a new manager. McDonald had been in charge of five games without a loss until to Tuesday night’s devastating loss at MK Dons, which might hasten the process.
McDonald himself has impressed the management and players with his calm approach and has aspirations of moving into management. He has enjoyed the role but it is understood he has some reservations about parking his playing career and still has a two year deal.
It is likely to lead the club to look at more experienced options, of which Holden is one. i understands the 43-year-old is keen on the position and can point to some excellent references from the Valley, where one insider believes he galvanised the club’s fortunes to help steer them away from the relegation zone last season.
Regarded as an excellent man manager whose philosophy is to play to attacking football, he is looking to get back into the game after his dismissal at Charlton in August.
So far there have been few clues in City’s managerial hunt. Links with Neil Redfearn and Karl Robinson have been played down while Graham Alexander, who recently left League Two rivals MK Dons, and Steven Clemence are among the bookmakers favourites. The latter’s odds dropped suddenly on Wednesday morning.
The Bantams have been stranded in League Two since being demoted in 2019, but Valley Parade definitely has a ton of potential. For their weekend match against Wrexham, they drew 21,552 spectators, which was the sixth-largest gate in the entire EFL and included more than two Premier League teams. However, despite last season’s play-off appearance, this season’s results have fallen short of expectations among fans.
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