BRADFORD Town gave outgoing manager Paul Shanley the perfect send-off by thrashing Odd Down 4-0 in their own back yard on the day the Bath outfit lifted the Toolstation League Premier Division trophy.

Earlier this month, Shanley announced that he would be stepping down as Bradford boss at the end of this season, and on Tuesday night, a hat-trick from Neikell Plummer and a Sam Jordan strike saw the Trowbridge Road side embarrass the newly-crowned champions moments before Odd Down got their hands on some coveted silverware.

There will be no cup fairytale to accompany the end of Shanley’s tenure, with Jordan’s goal not enough to prevent the Bobcats losing 2-1 to Willand Rovers in the quarter-finals of the Les Phillips Cup on Saturday, but the departing Bradford chief was chuffed with the parting gift provided to him by his players on Tuesday.

“It was a bit of a sad day. I’ve been manager of the club for eight years and previously, I played for the club too,” said Shanley.

“It was a really good performance from us. I read that their manager knew we were one of the only teams they hadn’t beaten all season and they wanted to put that right, but we took them apart.

“I think this week has summed up our season a bit. On Saturday, we were poor for most of the game but in the last 20 minutes, we should have got something out of it, and then on Tuesday, we performed and were superb.

“When you look back at the squad we’ve got, the league season has been a bit disappointing but we’ve had great runs in the FA Vase and FA Cup and I couldn’t have asked for much more from the players.”