Having watched Tom and Dom’s interview with Edin Rahic, I felt a strong sense of sympathy for the Bradford City Chairman.

Not only did I feel guilty for the part that myself and countless others have played in criticising some of the decisions made during his tenure, I also felt ashamed to have contributed to the schisms that have developed within the Bantams fanbase during the first few months of this year.

January was poor, there’s no escaping that. Losing to Yeovil wasn’t just the second-worse performance of the season (no prizes for guessing the game that wins first prize) it signified the beginning of the end of Stuart McCall and with that the end of our promotion push.

It was here also where the fans became their most divided. With many still opting to chant McCall’s name at home matches, others took to their keyboards in a bid to justify the chairman’s actions on social media. In fact, I myself had the pleasure of joining Bantams Banter at BBC Radio Leeds to throw in my two-cents worth, adding more fuel to what was already a worsening crisis.

As Edin highlights in his interview, the ‘chips were down’ - and to a certain extent, we all downed-tools.

While those on the pitch failed to string a meaningful sequence of results together, those off it soon chose to boycott Valley Parade, opting to stay home and spend their hard-earned money elsewhere.

Behind the scenes, James Mason’s daliance with Twitter did nothing to stem the tide of vicious rumours, while Simon Parker continued to drive thousands to the T&A website with a whole run of controversial headlines, stirring an ever-thickening pot of proverbial shit.

For city fans young and old, this was tough to take. Thankfully however, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel - provided we all act the right way during the 2018/19 season.

I say ‘all’ because we all have a part to play. I for one agree with Edin, and that we all need to do much better when the ‘chips are down’. Rather than sulking, I’d like to see players fighting for their teammates. Rather than leaping to ignorant and poorly constructed conclusions, I’d like to see us fans singing louder than ever before - while simultaneously blocking those that do nothing but criticise online.

There’s a responsibility that lies within the club too - indeed, rather than appearing once in a blue moon, I’d like Edin to communicate his plans and ambitions more often - whether that’s by talking to Simon Parker, Bantams Banter or any of the other brilliant journalists plying their trade across the region.

Moving forward I’d like us to support not just the team, but the vision that the German investors are so passionate about. They aren’t here to run our club into the ground, they are here because they want success - both on and off the field. Edin’s come out and pinned his colours to the mast, now’s the time for us to follow suit. It’s time for us to do our bit and support the club we love.

Whoever gets the job as Head Coach should be welcomed with open arms. Without prejudice and without criticism. On a similar note, inbound transfers should be applauded and encouraged, not heckled or abused. After all, if I recall correctly, there were questions marks about the arrival of a 35 year old Gary Jones back in 2012 - and just look how that worked out.

The same goes for existing players too. Encouragement breeds success, while hate breeds yet more open-goal misses. With that in mind, come August I hope that the fans offer the young talents of Dom Poleon and Jake Reeves a clean slate - it’s in all our best interests to see these lads do well, so why shouldn’t they be cheered when their names are read from the team sheet? You never know how great these players could be.

Lastly, I’d like to see each part of our club working in unison in a bid to pull us back together. That goes for Edin, the fans, the players and the new Head Coach. As I’ve already stated, we all have our part to play - let’s make sure it’s the part of the hero, because I for one am sick of playing the villain.

Note - The views in this and any other blog written by a third party on this site are not necessarily those of Bantams Banter or Tom & Dom. As a 'fan site' we feel it only right to report and share views from all sides, to spark debate and give all parties the chance to 'fight their corner'.