ROHAN Smith wants to be involved with a new Bradford Bulls.

The RFL will place a re-formed club in the Championship with a maximum 12-point penalty after liquidation was confirmed yesterday.

Talks will now intensify with interested bidders to set up a “newco” – hopefully confirmed by the end of next week.

And eight months after taking the Odsal helm, head coach Smith has made it clear he has no intention of walking away.

Smith told the T&A: “I came to be part of something big. We’ve faced some serious obstacles in that time but I’ll still be committed to being here if the situation suits everyone.

“There’s a massive challenge in every club. If you are ever in coaching and don’t attack it with everything you’ve got, it won’t be long before you don’t have a job anyway – regardless of the status and stature of the club.

“It’s a cut-throat business but also a privilege to have the opportunity to work with people who are so committed they are prepared to put their body on the line every single day.”

The RFL have confirmed that the Bulls will receive the lowest central funding in the Championship, £150,000, which is the equivalent of the club finishing last.

The points deduction effectively rules out a crack at reaching the top four next season and a play-off place.

But Smith believes the club’s position can be salvaged if negotiations are not allowed to drag on.

He added: “I feel like every staff member and the vast majority of our players all still want to be involved at the club.

“It’s potentially exciting. It all depends on who the new owners are and their intentions as to whether they want to make the club big again or exists as a Championship team.

“If something was to happen quickly, it’s very salvageable to have a positive roster and the opportunity to build something next year.

“But there are lot of things to be done and a lot of uncertainties.”

The administrators pulled the plug yesterday after the final interested bidder withdrew because of the size of the debts – thought to be around £2m in terms of money already owed and the estimated funding shortfall for this year.

Smith said: “It was very tough seeing the faces and the body language of the players. You could see they lost a bit of hope.

“If you aren’t sure what’s going to happen, it’s always best to think positive. It changes the way you go about things.

“We’d had a big day of training the day before and a lot of progress. It was a very productive day.

“It’s real testament to the playing group and the staff that through all this stuff we really have had a great pre-season of training.

“The players didn’t take the easy way out. They have done a fantastic job and can hold their heads up high.

“They have done the best they can throughout this process.”

General manager Stuart Duffy admitted the news that the club would fold came as a “bombshell”.

The Bulls stalwart said: “As far as we thought, we were all led to believe a favourable solution would be reached.

“Everybody was told we would be paid the December wages today – so it was a huge shock to hear the club were being liquidated.

“It’s been a very difficult time as you can imagine. We’ve been living day to day waiting for any bit of news.

“It’s been horrible and made even worse because of the time of year over Christmas and the New Year.

“At least it’s a positive that hopefully we can survive as a club – it’s got a good history of rising from the ashes. But it can’t be allowed to happen again.”