club. Wetherall was one of 19 senior first-team players to be laid off by chairman Richmond in May 2002, after the club were put into administration and the players unpaid since April. Those players went as far as taking strike action before a pre-season friendly at Hull City, even though Wetherall, as their Professional Footballers' Association representative, had initially denied they would do so, before the club was saved and players reinstated. Wetherall played in the club's opening game of the season as Bradford drew 0–0 with Wolverhampton Wanderers live on television, but was again ruled out through an injury, this time to his hip. A planned comeback was put off five weeks later, before he sought the advice of a specialist in Denmark. After sitting out another three months through injury, Wetherall made his return as a substitute against Gillingham in December 2002 but was again injured in a reserve team comeback three days later. He again returned in February 2003 against Coventry City and played 15 games during the final three months of the season. Wetherall kept off his injury problems and played in the first 15 games of the 2003–04 season, but was ruled out for two months after suffering medial ligament damage, following a knee injury sustained during the club's 1–0 defeat to Watford. He returned on 28 December 2003 in a 1–0 victory which gave Bradford their first win in six games. His return to the defence added a second successive clean sheet. The revival in form was short-lived and despite Wetherall missing just one more game, when he sustained a calf injury, Bradford were threatened with another relegation. Wetherall scored a header against Reading in a 2–1 win and gave Bradford a "slim chance" of avoiding relegation, only for that to be confirmed two weeks later after a 3–2 defeat to Wimbledon. Despite the club's relegation to League One and another spell in administration, Wetherall turned down a move away from Bradford City after snubbing Coventry City during the 2004 summer. In October 2004, Wetherall and fellow veteran player Dean Windass both signed year's extensions to their contracts, with Wetherall's keeping him at Bradford until the end of the 2007–08 season. He also put his injury problems to one side for the 2004–05 season and missed just one league game – a 1–1 draw with Walsall in February when he was ruled out because