Mike Dodds hopeful of Richard Kone playing for Wycombe again

Head coach Mike Dodds hopes Wycombe have not seen the last of Richard Kone.

The £5million-rated striker, a target for a number of Championship clubs, was not included in the squad as they went down 2-1 at promoted Bradford.

Dodds said: “Rich had a really clunky week in terms of missing little bits.

“I have a really good relationship with Rich and the club have made him a really good offer to stay with a new contract.

“We have had four, five, maybe six bids. It’s just accelerated really quickly and we’ve had a huge amount of interest.

“I’ll touch base with Rich on Monday when we’re back in. My plan is he’ll be involved next weekend but we’ll see how the week goes.”

Bradford made an explosive return to League One after a six-year absence by scoring twice in the first 13 minutes.

Antoni Sarcevic, their promotion hero on the final day of last season, headed the first and Bobby Pointon quickly doubled the lead with a 20-yard drive.

Magnus Westergaard missed a huge chance for Wycombe before Dan Udoh pulled one back.

Dodds added: “It wasn’t all doom or gloom. There was some good stuff at times.

“There were signs there of the direction we want to achieve but also some warning signs.

“Ninety per cent of the league will be like that in the first 20 minutes. If we don’t deal with that, then we’re going to have problems.

“I’m naturally disappointed because you want to get off to a good start.”

Bradford manager Graham Alexander started seven of their nine summer signings – but both goals came from players from last season.

He said: “I know everybody likes to talk about new recruits but I never forget or disrespect the players that we already have here. They are still valuable to us and very good players.

“But we improved the team and the squad for a reason so I don’t see any reason in holding them back. I don’t ask my team to hold back so I’ve got to set that start.

“There are a lot of new players but in general the support trust the team.

“If something goes wrong, if we make a mistake or conceded a goal, there’s not this massive wave of disappointment. There’s a belief and a patience in the team that has developed over the past 12 months.

“Wycombe had a great season last year and have got big ambitions. We knew the challenge would be tough.

“But we always want to make it tough for the opponents when they come to Valley Parade. We needed to start on the right footing and bring our form from last season into this against better teams.”