JASBIR Athwal has reassured Bulls fans that Geoff Toovey should receive his visa "very shortly" after the chairman shed light on how difficult it has been to start a new club from scratch.

The regular season is already past the halfway mark, with the Australian still to be officially installed as Bradford's head coach.

Athwal, new to his own position after being given the role by owners Andrew Chalmers and Graham Lowe, explained why the process has been painstaking.

He said: "We couldn't get a bank account. I know people have been thinking, looking from the outside, 'what are they doing?' – but everyone has been working so hard behind the scenes to get things over the line and get things sorted.

"There's been a lot of red tape. It's very hard to open things when things have gone wrong previously.

"Now having a bank account, we can get a VAT number and register a border agency license. That has taken so long but Geoff's visa (application) is in and really soon, we should be able to say, 'here you go, Geoff'.

"It's just the mechanisms, which we are trying to get through, that are making us jump through hoops but we're very confident that Geoff should have his visa very shortly."

Athwal also responded to criticism from some fans about the perceived lack of communication from the club's hierarchy as the Toovey saga has dragged on.

A long-term Bulls and Bradford Northern fan himself, having also played for Northern's academy, the chairman said: "I've watched this club for a long time and Bulls are the best fans ever who have given so much support to this club.

"We are trying to build the club from a very solid foundation. At the moment it has been tricky and we are juggling things around but working hard behind the scenes

"Youth and the fans are the bedrock of Bradford Bulls. Andrew Chalmers and Graham Lowe understand that.

"We want to give updates but it is tough for them when there are stumbling blocks with certain things not happening as quick as we'd like."

Athwal said he would be happy to speak to supporters' groups and was open to organising a fans' forum, which previous owners Omar Khan and Marc Green did during their time at the helm.