6:34am Tuesday 10th June 2008
By Dave Craven
Bulls chairman Peter Hood today moved to ease disgruntled fans' fears by insisting: We will bring success back to Odsal.
Out of the Carnegie Challenge Cup and having lost three matches on the bounce for the first time under Steve McNamara's reign, supporters have grown uneasy amid a gathering gloom at Grattan Stadium.
Bradford's latest defeat against Catalans leaves them grimly hanging on to a top-six spot and it came in front of another worryingly low Odsal crowd.
With just eight wins from their 16 Super League games so far, the once success-laden Bulls could miss out on the Grand Final for a third successive year.
Some fans believe the club is stagnating and lacking ambition while inevitability there have been question marks raised over McNamara's future.
But an optimistic Hood has come out in full support of his head coach, saying there is "absolutely no chance at all" McNamara will become the fourth Super League chief to get the sack in as many weeks.
Although currently battling through a "difficult" patch, he maintains Bradford are well-placed to return to their former glories but supporters must be patient.
"Bradford fans have been used to success," said Hood.
"We could be described as the most successful club in Super League, so I can quite understand why they might be disappointed now.
"Just like all fans, I was hoping not only for a win but a win in style on Sunday.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed we didn't get that but I'm in no way dejected.
"I can see where we are going and the definite intention of creating a younger, English side for the medium term.
"In the new Super League franchise era, the successful clubs will be the ones that can muster strong, top-quality English-trained talent.
"If you look beyond the immediate, you will see we have recruited one of, if not the best, crops of youngsters in the game - the Donaldsons, Tates, Lillycrops and Burgess' of this world, people who every top club wanted but who decided they wanted to come to the Bulls.
"There's a block of them all coming through together at the same time hopefully into a team that will still include Sam Burgess as well.
"We also have some quality young players already making waves in Super League, like Dave Halley, and a clear, thought-through strategic route towards the next sustained period of Bulls success becomes evident.
"That is exciting but at present we are just going through one of those difficult times."
Unearthing junior talent was down the list of priorities of the previous regime when Hood and McNamara took up their respective positions in 2006.
The duo have since moved to sow some seeds that should be ready to flourish further down the line.
That won't help them now but Hood believes the current Bulls side isn't far off recapturing some form itself.
"Some things on the pitch do need to be fixed - Steve McNamara has said that - but he and his staff are the people to do it alongside the players," he said.
"There's nothing to be gained by panicking or making knee-jerk reactions in the face of some adversity.
"It is a testing period but we are still fifth in the table, have the third best attack in Super League and the fourth best defence.
"We all stop along the road to success and we're going from A to B.
"At times you have to make small diversions. We have a few obstacles in our way, have had a few tough weeks but there is no panic. Some clubs would love to be in the position we are in.
"We have another difficult fixture coming up at St Helens on Friday night and let's not forget we will probably be going there without half-a-dozen of our first-choice players.
"It's tough enough anyway at Knowsley Road and we are suffering with injuries but we'll be going there and giving it our best shot.
"We know the team has talent and it just has to start playing to its potential."
Hood continued: "I reject suggestions made by some that either the Bulls lack ambition or that it is not moving forward. The club is moving forward across a number of fronts.
"We are as ambitious and hungry for success as we ever were in times gone by."
Undoubtedly, Bradford have undergone a period of transition off the pitch where cost-cutting exercises have been prevalent to help prevent haemorrhaging money.
But Hood has over-seen this as well as reaching an amicable conclusion to the Iestyn Harris saga and taking the Odsal Sporting Village project forward.
He said: "There were fires that needed to be fought and they have been extinguished but there is no need to dwell on the past.
"We are where we are. We're not hitting the heights as we have done before but we are working towards doing that again."
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