ADMINISTRATOR Gary Pettit is confident of finding the right owners to take over the Bulls – and revealed they have already sounded out head coach Rohan Smith about next season.

The club entered administration for the third time in just five years last week and are facing a 12-point penalty as punishment from the RFL.

That will be halved to six if the creditors are paid off in full but Pettit is encouraged by the interested parties which he has now whittled down to three, two of whom have signalled their intention to acquire the land at Odsal and develop it should their bids prove successful.

The deadline for offers is today and Pettit, the managing director of PBC Business Recovery, told the Telegraph & Argus, said: “The more serious parties have come forward and are asking the final due diligence questions.

“At the moment, we have whittled it down to three main parties and, while I can't go into too much detail, they have all had experience in rugby.

“They know the game and players and supporters would feel quite buoyant and confident with them because they know how the game ticks and are what the club needs.

“In a way, I feel like a dad at Christmas waiting for the kids to open their presents.

“The sooner they are in, the sooner the club can settle down because it's ten weeks until the season gets underway and five or six weeks before the friendlies begin.

"The people we are talking to want to see the club promoted back to Super League."

Pettit said the identities of the bidders was a closely-guarded secret but he confirmed that Wasps owner Derek Richardson was not in the running to take over.

However, the interested parties are keen to know head coach Smith’s aims for the coming season.

Pettit explained: “They are asking questions like 'can the head coach tell us where he sees the club going and how he sees it getting there?'

“Rohan is putting pen to paper with his thoughts about his current squad, where he thinks it could go and what he needs to reach those goals.

“He's going to prepare that and as a rugby person, he's thinking 'someone is interested in what I want to do with the club'.

“That was encouraging and I thought it was a damn good thing to be asked because it is indicative of how serious the contenders are.”

The Telegraph & Argus understands the club's debts are around the £1million mark and Pettit confirmed Marc Green has a debenture against the club, making him a secured creditor.

Petitt, who said he was hopeful that players and staff would be paid next week, revealed Green was still at Odsal on a daily basis.

Pettit said: “He has a debenture incorporated with a floating charge. It is security for money that Marc has lent to the club.”