MY first impression of Graham Alexander the person was in the depths of Covid.
I was consigned to my hotel room in Crawley on a Tuesday night in December 2020 - as miserable as it gets halfway through the most miserable season.
City were about to be led by academy coaches Mark Trueman and Conor Sellars for the first time after Stuart McCall had been sacked two days earlier.
Not allowed to wander because of the strict isolation rules, I worked the contacts book for people who might be interested in the managerial vacancy.
Some replied with a quick “no”, most didn’t bother at all.
But one came back with a very polite message explaining his reasons why he would not be pushing for the job - and then wishing me and my family a merry Christmas.
Being so used to dealing with such a cut-throat industry, that simple pleasantry stuck with me. Without having ever met Alexander, I got an inkling that he was a thoroughly nice chap.
That's been confirmed now that I’ve had the privilege to deal with him on such a regular basis for nearly three years.
A big part of the job of covering a football club is building a relationship with the manager. He is your go-to source above any other.
Trust is key for both parties. It takes time to build and can be gone in an instant.
In my 26 years on the Bantams beat for the T&A, I like to think I’ve had that understanding with most – but not quite all - of the occupants of the City hot-seat.
Alexander is up there with Stuart McCall and Phil Parkinson in the bracket where you felt you could speak honestly and always be treated with respect. One fall-out - part of the local reporter's landscape - was soon rectified with a chat in his office to clear the air before moving on just as before.
He was always willing to take a call on Monday afternoon on his way home from training and no topic was off the table – barring the initial Preston speculation before he addressed it properly at last week’s press conference.
The phone chats became an enjoyable routine – and continued even during the summer break when most gaffers go completely off grid. I did not speak to some of his predecessors from the first week in May to the start of pre-season.
But he appreciated I had a job to do churning out City content every day, whether it was January or June, and was happy to help. Not everyone in his position has thought the same.
There was also the human touch and I remember the occasion soon after winning promotion when I had just received the bombshell that our dog had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
I was finding it so difficult to hold it together and say anything – so he willingly chatted away to fill in all the blanks after checking that I was okay to still carry on with it.
That’s Graham Alexander, a decent person. A very, very good manager for Bradford City but also a genuinely good guy.