Stefan Rupp Interview

In today’s T&A:

STEFAN Rupp insists he is not trying to offload City as he savours his best period of owning the club.

The German recently marked 10 years since he took charge at Valley Parade and admits he has learned plenty – especially from the tough times earlier in his reign.

The Bantams are currently in their strongest place during the Rupp era and he is not looking to get out.

“Why should I sell it?” he said.

“You get requests from time to time but they are tyre kickers, people without money, wannabe football club owners, or people you simply don't like.

“I'm the keeper of the keys and I would never hand it over to somebody where I have the impression he can't do any better.

“At the moment, I'm really enjoying it. It's a good time and we have a lot of momentum.

“We have a lot of motivation and we have a vision as a club where we want to be. Maybe you'll ask me in four or five years and I’ll still be here.”

Speaking exclusively to the Telegraph & Argus, Rupp talked about the battle to revive City’s fortunes over the past decade.

Following the after-effects of Edin Rahic’s mismanagement and the financial nightmare of the pandemic, the club finally climbed out of League Two and carried that momentum into a cracking first season back in the third tier.

“I would say that the majority of the years I was owning the club, it was very difficult. I'm really proud that Ryan (Sparks) and I and the complete team were able to really turn it around.

“After Covid, it gained momentum. Maybe we would have been a little bit quicker with all of that and then Covid kicked in.

“But we also went through Covid and survived. A lot of clubs didn't.

“We went out of that, let's say, relatively unharmed and had a good basis after that to really build on.

“You can see the progress and, for me, this is incredible. I can't tell you how much I enjoy it.

“You think back to the sleepless nights, the situations where you thought, ‘oh my God, how should that go on in the near future?’

“There were all the setbacks and you’d hit a real low – and then you’d experience the next low. Every time the floor is going down.

“But now, as I said, the last four or five years, the club has incredibly developed. We have progressed in a way that I never thought we would have.”

Rupp made a flying visit to Valley Parade for the fans’ forum on Monday night where he took questions alongside CEO Sparks, David Sharpe, Graham Alexander and Stephen Gent.

He feels that stability within the hierarchy has underpinned the upturn in fortunes on the pitch.

“I was sitting on the same stage for a third year in a row with the same people and this consistency creates stability.

“I think every owner wants that. You want good people around you, at best (you want them) forever if you can.

“It's that confidence in the people. It's absolute trust.

“You know how your guys think and act and there is not much talking. It's a very pleasant way to run a business.

“It took us years. It's like with every company, you need time to create the environment and find the right people to grow into that.

“Everything is going in the right direction. We are growing year by year with quite exceptional numbers and it's fun being on board.”

Finishing fourth in League One last season made plenty sit up and take notice. Rupp never feared being dragged into a fight for survival after promotion – but equally was taken aback by just how well Alexander’s men got on.

“Of course, our plan was to be competitive,” he added. “We said, ‘hey, we don't show up in League One to fill up the numbers’ so we wanted to play good football.

“We looked at the budget and the budget was good. We felt that if we can take advantage of it, then we're at least in the best 10 teams.

“I think we overperformed, of course, and big thanks for that must go to the whole squad, the manager and the people around.

“You can have the nicest stadium and the nicest job or whatever but what counts on the pitch on Saturday is the most important thing.

“We performed very well and I think this gives us a very good basis for the upcoming season.

“In our first year after being promoted, we really grew into an established League One club.

“We are where we belong and, of course, with ambitions to go higher.

“But the challenge is the same every year. Very big clubs come down from the Championship and we simply have to cope with it.

“I think we did it well last season and I'm very confident that we will also do it this season again.”

Expectations have inevitably shot up after City made the play-offs. Rupp feels that they can maintain the momentum in a division now including Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester – who were Premier League champions when he was first settling into West Yorkshire.

“We did it last season and we were a mixture between a League Two and a League One team.

“Now this season, we transform and have evolved again into a real League One team. We are raising the bar.

“If you look at the people we are hiring, they have a world of experience at the Championship level or have a promotion or whatever.”

Rupp has seen plenty of highs and lows during his experience of owning and financing a football club. But the darker moments make the good ones feel all the sweeter – and why he is relishing the recent run of form.

“You can't learn to be a football club owner overnight. I learned the hard way with many setbacks but then you really appreciate the success we have on and off the pitch.

“It’s like in life. A 50-year-old Stefan would tell a 30-year-old Stefan with 20 years more experience to maybe do things completely different.

“But life is about experiences. It's about setbacks.

“It's about standing up with a bleeding nose and doing it again. If you fall down again and the nose is still bleeding, you stand up again and again.

“In the last two or three years, I think we were able to harvest what we put into it.

“It was a long journey but this is how football is. Short-term success is nice to have but it’s not sustainable.

“What we are building here is a sustainable foundation for the long run and it feels better because of how hard it's been and how long it has taken to get there.

“It's not me. It's a team effort and I'm only doing my part in the background.

“It's about all the people that came to the club, that enriched the club, that helped it grow. And I have a great management team that makes it easy for me.

“You need capable people and people who really share the same vision and people you can trust. We have that here and I’m super proud.”

 

Good job we’re a League 1 club then!