BULLS managing director Steve Ferres has revealed contract talks with players are underway as he begins to put next year's squad in place.

The bulk of the current group, including star man Lee Gaskell, are under contract for 2016 but at least a handful of players are off contract at the end of this campaign.

Ferres says the Bulls have started talking to players within the squad – as well as external targets – about next season, which Jimmy Lowes' side will hope to start as a Super League outfit.

"We are in discussions with players at the moment and we will be looking at the squad going forward from within the club and outside," said Ferres.

"There are some players who we will retain and some we won't because the squad will evolve like any squad does and it's a moving target.

"We have a lot of players who have committed to the club for two years, so that will help with moving forward into next season. There is some flexibility within that and it's always fluid.

"There are quite a few who are under contract this season and next year, plus a few who are out of contract at the end of this season who will be assessed accordingly and decisions will be made.

"We're always looking at improving the squad and hopefully we will start to get a nucleus of a team that we can move forward with over the years and build on. We're speaking to people all the time."

Ferres played a key role in assembling the squad for this season as over a dozen new signings were made and key players such as Gaskell tied down when the club were relegated.

If the Bulls achieve an immediate return to Super League, their fate may not be known until early October.

Ferres said: "We can only plan to put the best squad together in whatever league we are in.

"If we manage to get back into Super League, then hopefully that will leave a little bit more resource going forward. But we can only work within the constraints of the salary cap.

"We've come a long way in 12 months and, from having a situation where we were decimated, we now have some stability on and off the field.

"It's still a work-in-progress but we're all positive that the ship has been turned around and we're heading in the right direction."

Ferres remains cautiously optimistic about the Bulls' promotion prospects ahead of the end-of-season Super Eights.

"The Championship clubs who finish in the top four will have a monumental job on their hands to get into Super League," he said.

"We can't look too far in front and we've got to pay respect to clubs in Super League who are spending nearly as twice as much on their squad as we are.

"But we're in the top two, which is where we would have liked to be at this stage of the season, and we need to replicate that in the second half of the year.

"We've learned a lot this season and there will be more tough battles ahead as no team is going to lie down for us; Leigh or anyone else.

"Every team is fighting for a different reason and each game is an education, so we're happy that we're in the top two.

"At the moment, that gives us four home games in middle eights and not three."

It is believed the Bulls are not currently seeking to bring Jarrod Sammut, who is currently out of the first-team picture at Wakefield, back to the club.

Ferres pointed to the number of players who have yet to feature this term because of injury as he said: "Steve Crossley has only played one game so far and Karl Davies, Dave Petersen and Matty Blythe have all yet to make a first-team appearance this year after injury.

"They will come into the mix somewhere along the line, so we've not had our strongest team out yet. That's not a problem as long as we can get it out in the Super Eights."