MATT Diskin has applauded the appointment of Jimmy Lowes and says he is keen to stay at Bradford in some capacity beyond the end of this season.

Bulls skipper Diskin will make a decision on whether to hang up his boots in the next few weeks but is also open to the prospect of taking up a coaching role – possibly as Lowes’ assistant.

Lowes was unveiled as head coach on Monday and has still to appoint a number two.

Diskin, who took charge on a caretaker basis during last week’s home defeat to Hull KR, said: “There is no decision yet about whether I will play on next season.

“I need to sit down with Jimmy and the management to see what their thoughts are and see where I am myself physically and mentally.

“I will then sit down with my family and make a decision from there, which will come around July or August.

“It will not be based on division we are in – it will depend on whether there is a place at the club for me still and is my body capable of doing another year?

“At the moment that’s questionable because going week to week with painkilling injections isn’t a very constructive way to live life. I’ve got a fair few things to weigh up.”

The 32-year-old was reluctant to take the reins after Francis Cummins was sacked but said he enjoyed preparing the team for last Friday’s game.

Asked about the prospect of taking a coaching role at Odsal, Diskin said: “I’ve found my love for the game again since I’ve been at Bradford, which is bizarre when you consider how bad all the adversity has been.

“Towards the end of my time at Leeds I wasn’t enjoying my rugby but I came to Bradford and rediscovered my love for the game.

“It has been a fantastic sport which has helped me to achieve so many things in life.

“I don’t want to turn my back on it. I want to stay involved and help other people to do the best they can in their careers.

“Hopefully that can be at Bradford but you never know.

“I would like to stay here in some capacity but that’s not choice or my decision – it’s for the hierarchy to decide.

“The reasons I was reluctant to take temporary charge is that I was coming in on the back of the sacking of two quality people in Franny and Lee St Hilaire, which wasn’t ideal.

“Franny is a fantastic individual and a fantastic coach. He got a bit of a raw deal at the end but, as a group of players, we have nothing but thanks for him and Lee.

“I gave it my all last week, I put in a lot of hours of preparation with video and forming a game-plan, and I really enjoyed it.”

Diskin is fit and raring to go this weekend as Lowes takes charge of the Bulls for the first time at Warrington.

Diskin, who crossed swords with Lowes during Leeds-Bradford derbies, said: “From my teenage years as an aspiring hooker, Jimmy was one of the players I looked up to – very clever, very tough and a good example for any young professional.

“You look at the candidates for the job and I think Jimmy is the right man.

“He’s a young ambitious coach with Bradford at his heart. He wants to rebuild this club and he cares.

“He’s had a really good grounding over the last five to six years, so he ticks all the boxes.

“He had a brief taste of being a Super League head coach at Warrington, he’s worked under other coaches and has formed his own philosophy on coaching.

“As a group of players that’s something we’re looking forward to finding out about in the next few weeks.”