JIMMY Lowes admitted he was “gutted” to be leaving the Bulls after his final game as head coach ended in a thumping 52-16 win over Workington.

The legendary former hooker resigned last Tuesday and cited “personal reasons” for his departure after 22 months in charge.

A hand-over period took place leading up to the game and Matt Diskin will now take interim charge while Bradford continue their search for Lowes’ successor.

Asked about the reasons behind his decision to quit the Bulls, Lowes said: “I’m gutted about it, but sometimes you just have to make the right decisions based on a lot of stuff and I made that decision.

“This game was about beating Workington more than anything – I’m gutted to be going but it was the right decision at that time.

“It’s my last game but for the lads it’s just another league game and they have got another big one at London on Sunday.

“My time as head coach has been about working with a great bunch of players.

“It’s a strange situation because I resigned on Tuesday and I wanted to work this week and finish with a game.

“It has been really tough for the lads this week, knowing this was my last game, and because of how decent they are, they have applied themselves really well regardless of whether I was staying or going.

“I can’t thank the players and the support staff enough. Everyone wants this club to get back to Super League and that’s what we’re striving for.

“It’s tough and a long road back and can be a very disappointing road back as we saw last year.

“But I think what everyone needs to realise is that they’re a good group of young players who will develop.

“Hopefully they can add to that as they get towards the eights and really challenge in that position.

“They’re in a really good position and even after a couple of recent slip ups, they will get better, especially as players come back from injury.”

Glenn Morrison remains firm favourite to succeed Lowes but no timescale has been outlined for making an appointment.

Oscar Thomas scored the try of the game with a stunning long-range effort which saw him outstrip the Workington defence from distance.

Lowes said: “Oscar just lacks a little bit of self-belief and confidence.

“He knows what he’s good at and we try and wrap our arms around him a little bit.

“He’s away from home for the first time and you keep seeing glimpses of what he can do.

“He just needs to believe in himself a bit more and he will be a big player for us. They’re a good bunch and they want to play rugby.

“When it does pay off for them in fast, open games, they will be hard to handle. That’s why I think this club has a bright future.”