HOW many hands the Bulls will have tied behind their backs for next season remains unclear.

They will kick off a third year beneath the Super League with a minimum six-point deficit on the rest of the division.

But that could be doubled if the Rugby Football League feel that whoever does get the nod to buy the club is not able to honour the bulk of a debt now thought to be well past the £1million mark.

The final deadline for bids passed last night. What happens next is at the will of the administrators.

But while Gary Pettit and Gavin Bates sift through the cases for each willing party, the show goes on as normal around the club – or as normal as life can be, given the cloud of financial uncertainty that hangs over Odsal.

On the playing front at least, coach Rohan Smith maintains the most level of heads as he takes charge of his first pre-season in charge.

Whatever the brickbats flying about off the training pitch, on it he maintains a positive outlook that he hopes keeps rubbing off on the players.

A maximum 12-point penalty would leave the Bulls an enormous amount of ground to make up on the rest – particularly in a regular season that sees them play newly-relegated Hull KR three times before the split.

Yet Smith is not interested in talking down his side's Championship chances, however weighted the scales may be against them.

He said: "I wouldn't worry about that if and when it happens. It's always about how we can perform best.

"Once you go out there 3pm on a Sunday, the table doesn't count for anything. It's about the performance between those white lines.

"Everything is geared towards performing well out on the field. We can't influence anything else.

"We're looking to have a strong season and nothing that's happened recently has done anything to change that."

Smith described his first taste at the Bulls helm from the midpoint of last season as a "rollercoaster" ride which ended with the slight consolation of the Championship Shield silverware.

His second year will see a rebuilt squad with a full pre-season under their coach behind them.

It will also see a more experienced Smith on the sidelines. He now knows what the competition is all about.

"Getting up close and personal with a lot of challenges that the Championship throws at you, I know what to expect and I guess it helps," said the Aussie.

"I thought the game might have moved on in some areas but it quite clearly hasn't in the Championship – but that's all part of the challenge and the fun.

"We've got a squad that I feel are going to develop well together and combat all of those challenges.

"But every year in every competition has been a learning curve for me since I started coaching as assistant for the under-16s B in Wollongong when I was 19. It's been a learning curve since and will continue to be.

"I understand the lie of the land a little bit more and the quality of talent that's in the UK and how the systems work. But it will never cease to be a learning curve."

The players had a taste of mixed martial arts to liven up their preparations. The man leading them is clearly spoiling for the fight ahead.