STEVE Lansdown has revealed how he formulated the audacious plan to make England goalkeeper David James a Bristol City player.

City's chairman had just returned from a month-long holiday in South Africa and was catching up with the sports news in the newspapers when the idea came to him.

He saw that James had become a free agent after parting company with relegated Portsmouth and thought 'why not?'

Speaking exclusively to the Post, the millionaire businessman, who now lives as a tax exile in Guernsey, said: "I was reading the papers on my return and noticed that Portsmouth had withdrawn their offer of a new contract to David James.

"It looked as though he was going to become a free agent and, although I knew Premier League clubs would be interested, I wondered if we might have a chance.

"The more I thought about it, the more I thought it might be worth a try. After all, we had nothing to lose. There was something in the back of my mind which made me think he might just fancy the challenge.

"And I liked the idea that his last game was for England against Germany in the last 16 of the World Cup finals and that his next could be for Bristol City against Millwall in the Championship.

"I contacted Colin Sexstone (chief executive) and sold the idea to him and he passed it on to Steve Coppell (manager). They both liked the idea and things went from there."

Sexstone contacted James' agent with an offer and the rest, as they say, is history. Although Celtic and Fulham were interested and James was already considering an offer from Sunderland, his meeting with Lansdown in Guernsey last week proved the deciding factor in persuading him to become the highest-profile signing in City's history.

Lansdown revealed: "It quickly became apparent that he was a true football person and not interested in money. That was when I knew we might be able to do a deal.

"David had lots of questions for me and, at times, it felt as though he was interviewing me rather than the other way round. He wanted to know the club was well run and that we weren't going to go up to the Premier League, go bust and then tumble all the way down again.

"He wanted to know how ambitious we were and I told him about the plans for the new stadium. He already knew that Steve Coppell was here and that helped."

Although the capture of such a high-profile figure – James will become the first current senior international to play for City since John Atyeo 40 years ago – was widely acclaimed as the transfer coup of the summer, Lansdown was not altogether surprised. He said: "Having met with David and had a long and very productive conversation with him, I began to understand what makes him tick. He told me it was about time a West Country club made it to the Premier League.

"But it wasn't all about location and being near to his home in Exeter. I spoke to him about coming to a club like Bristol City and making a real difference and he seemed to like the idea of that.

"He could have stayed in the Premier League and earned more money, but he was taken by the challenge of joining a club that is still trying to get there."

James will become the highest-paid player in City's history, but Lansdown dismissed the suggestion a disparity in wages might cause unrest in the dressing room. He said: "Because it is David James and because of what he has done in the game, I don't see that being a problem.

"So long as he performs – and we did sign him first and foremost because he is a very good goalkeeper – we can only win from a deal like this. Having David James on board will help raise our profile and he will also be a fantastic influence in the dressing room.

"Of course, he is going to be on more money, but these differences are going to occur increasingly as we build a team to take us to the next level."