INTERIM coach Leigh Beattie reckons Bradford Bulls’ supporters can play a big part in their bid to beat the odds.

The reborn club kick off their Championship campaign at title favourites Hull KR tomorrow on a hiding to nothing after the troubled off-season and big player exodus.

They will go with a young squad, too, but Beattie – who is set to take charge of the team as new boss Geoff Toovey awaits his visa – reckons noisy backing from the travelling faithful, buoyed by the fact the club is still here, can help them through a difficult opening as they look to find their feet again.

“It’s a tough start. They (Hull KR) have signed dome of our players as well, which makes it a bit more interesting too,” said Beattie.

“A game is a game, no matter who you play and we will take each week as it comes and tick them off.

“We will have plenty of support there helping us through, and that will help a lot going forward.”

Asked about the difficult preparations for the start of term – which have included a 28-10 friendly loss to Huddersfield Giants and narrow 25-24 victory over League One Keighley Cougars – Beattie said: “With what’s been happening we’ve missed a massive chunk of pre-season and so we’ve struggled a bit because of that. It’s not great preparation losing half the squad.

“It’s a matter of us digging in and taking it week by week.

“We’ve taken a lot of positives from the friendlies. Huddersfield was plenty of raw spirit. We had not been able to prepare much in terms of getting structures in place. There was a lot of emotion in that game, about taking to the field that day.

“Keighley was a step up. We’d had a bit more preparation for that, but some of the young lads were a bit tired from the week before – missing a chunk of pre-season and then having to play back-to-back games.

“We’re a young squad. We’re looking to bring some experienced players in. With the young lads, I’m not sure you can play them week in week out in the Championship but they will play a massive part of the season going forward.”

He added: “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind and things are just settling down and we’ll get a better picture of where we’re at in the next couple of weeks.”