MATT Diskin admits the prospect of the Bulls losing some of their best young talents is "a travesty".

The Batley head coach inflicted the latest defeat on his old club to put them a step closer to the relegation trapdoor.

It remains to be seen whether Bulls can keep hold of their prized young assets but the former Bradford under-19s chief anticipates that some will move on in the event of the drop, which – barring a reprieve from an RFL league restructure – appears almost inevitable.

Two of the players who developed under Diskin – Liam Kirk and James Bentley – were in action against Batley on Sunday, while a number of others, including Ethan Ryan and Ross Oakes, have become first-team regulars.

Diskin said: "It's brilliant to see but what is going to be sad to see is half of them are going to disappear elsewhere at the end of the season.

"This is a travesty because the work that has been done by John (Bastian), Leigh (Beattie) and Mark (Dunning) over the last few years has been great and you could see that by some of the players who were out there.

"There are some really talented youngsters there and it is a shame they are going to be playing elsewhere."

With just eight games to go and an 11-point deficit to make up, Diskin – who attaches no blame for the club's plight to the new regime which took over following liquidation – accepts the task of staying up looks beyond the Bulls.

Asked if his former club, whom he also served as a player and first-team assistant, still have any chance of beating the drop, Diskin replied: "I'd like to think so but if I'm totally honest, looking at the numbers, I don't think it's going to happen.

"We all live in hope and we all want a miracle to happen. I want Bradford in the Championship and I want them to get back to Super League.

"The Bulls bring one of the biggest crowds week in, week out. They've got a great fanbase who deserve to see the club playing at the top level."

While escaping relegation remains mathematically possible, victory against Batley was vital to get any realistic survival bid off the ground ahead of the Bottom Eights.

But Diskin, whose sixth-placed side cannot make the top four, could not afford to show any sentiment towards his old club where the result was concerned.

"We're very professional and you go about your business and want to win every game, so in that respect there was no sympathy," he said.

"I enjoyed my time there as a player and as a coach. I have really fond memories of the club and the people there and I wish them all the best with how things progress going forward."

The Bulldogs' 23-16 win at Mount Pleasant was revenge for defeat at Odsal earlier in the season, with Diskin crediting his defence for being the key.

"We handled the shape and structures which Bradford threw at us really comfortably," he said.

"Where Bradford did trouble us was when they played off the cuff with some off-load game playing against the grain. Individuals came to the fore and they troubled us a bit.

"Up until that point, I thought we defended really well and that's what won us the game."