When Bradford City announced the signing of Sean Scannell in the summer, not many of their supporters would have predicted just how bad their season would turn out.

The 28-year-old was expected to lead his new side to a higher finish than the 11th place that the Bantams had achieved during the 2017/18 campaign after playing the majority of his career at a higher level than League One.

With the Yorkshire-based side announcing the deal on Twitter, these fans expressed their delight on the social media platform.

Unfortunately for Scannell, he has failed to live up to the expectations as a serious back injury suffered in November saw him miss 29 consecutive games before finally making his return last Saturday as a substitute against Doncaster Rovers.

In the midfielder's absence, Bradford have experienced a truly miserable campaign which has seen them sack yet another manager, lose 16 games, concede 48 goals and move within five games of a return to the fourth tier after six years away.

The appointment of Gary Bowyer at the start of March has ultimately been an unsuccessful ploy by the club's owners to try and avoid an almost inevitable relegation yet is clear that they now need to back their new boss when the transfer window opens in July.

Whether Scannell is willing to make the drop down to League Two may depend on the club's financial position. As with any side who fail to achieve survival, Bradford will have to consider a complete overhaul of their squad and despite the midfielder being injured for the majority of the season, he could end up having to leave Valley Parade just twelve months after making his initial move to the club.