IF THE Bulls are to return to Super League at the first attempt, the contribution of the team off the pitch will be as important as the team on it.

Jimmy Lowes has a backroom staff to rival any top-flight club following the appointment of assistant Karl Harrison, head of youth John Bastian and under-19s coach Matt Diskin.

The arrival of Lance Du'Lac as the club's performance analyst and Gary Dempsey as strength and conditioning coach should prove similarly vital.

Dempsey is tasked with getting Lowes' squad in tip-top condition and his cv makes for impressive reading.

The Northern Irishman made his name north of the border working for the Scottish Rugby Union, which included stints at Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh RUFC and the under-17s and Scotland women's sides.

He has spent the past four years at the English Institute for Sport, rising to prominence with the England RL Academy team before earning promotion to the senior side.

"Bringing my experience of an elite, high-performance environment can only benefit Bradford," said Dempsey, who started his new job shortly after returning from England's Four Nations tour.

"I need to help lay the foundations and obviously build on what Jimmy wants in terms of his style of rugby in the Championship and hopefully moving into Super League next year. It's about developing these basics in an elite environment.

"I suppose my strong point would be my coaching in the gym and on-field work. However, a lot of my experience with the England guys has been a more holistic approach, so I've been doing a lot of the sports science too.

"I know what I need from the GPS side of things to track and record player movements. I'll be overseeing that as well."

It was in the England set-up that Dempsey became acquainted with Lowes and the Ulsterman had little hesitation signing up with the Bulls.

As one of only three full-time sides in the Championship next season, Dempsey has the time, tools and know-how to make his mark.

"The facilities here at Tong are fantastic and probably better than many Super League clubs," he explained.

"I'm impressed with the place, the staff and the players Jimmy has on board. They all want to work for each other as a team.

"That's exactly what you need and I hope we're the fittest team in the Championship.

"I knew Jimmy from the England set-up so when he approached me about coming here, it was a no-brainer to work alongside a coach of his calibre.

"We've got good staff, good facilities and a good mindset here. I'm going to leave no stone unturned in terms of what the players need and their physical requirements as a person and in terms of their position in the team."

Working with Steve McNamara's national side since 2011 has given Dempsey invaluable experience.

He said: "The recent Four Nations tour was like no other. I went on tour with the academy in 2010 but this was completely different.

"It was a lifelong experience and the players, the management and the schedule were fantastic – we had everything we needed.

"It was very frustrating, getting very close again, because we were seconds away in the World Cup semi-final and lost by the smallest of margins against both Australia and New Zealand.

"But it was still positive and all the players have learnt from the experience. It's going to be a very exciting time for the next few years."

With McNamara set to remain in charge of England heading into next year's series against New Zealand, Dempsey seems certain to remain on board.

He said: "Steve has built something really special. I started with England in 2010 and Steve brought me on board with the senior team in 2011.

"My job over the last few years has involved liaising with the strength and conditioning coaches at various clubs, especially for the England players.

"Therefore it's more of a dovetail approach, enabling us to get the best out of them when they come and play in the international set-up.

"What I have learnt from Steve and his backroom staff is about creating that elite environment and expectations on players, which is more of a cultural thing.

"That's a big thing for Steve with the two-team mentality and Jimmy has obviously been involved with England for the past few years as well.

"We've both got experience of that culture of working hard in an elite environment. If we do that, we should get back into Super League quite comfortably.

"But it's also about getting back there and being sustainable as it's very competitive. That's what we're trying to achieve."

Dempsey grew up supporting Ulster at their famous Ravenhill stadium in Belfast and his union background has held him in good stead since he switched codes in 2010.

"Mark Bitcon, the Wigan and England performance manager, has had the same experience and we often chat about it," he said.

"A lot of people, even players who I've worked with in union, will ask what the differences and similarities are.

"At first I thought they were quite similar but the more experience you get, the more you realise they are actually quite different games.

"Whilst you pass the ball the same way and aim to score tries, it's quite different in terms of game-plan, strategy and tactics. It's good to have experience of both codes."