LEE Smith is backing John Kear to turn the Bulls into grinners and winners again.

The most experienced voice in the squad believes Kear’s arrival will get the players enjoying themselves again after a torrid year in the Championship.

Smith, appointed club captain by the veteran coach, reckons they have struck lucky to land such a respected figure at the Odsal helm.

He said: “I don’t think we could have got a better coach than John. He knows the divisions and how to get teams playing properly.

“The job he did at Batley was absolutely fantastic.

“I was at Leigh and they turned us over once and should have beaten us at our place as well. They were the better team and we got out of jail.

“He didn’t have great resources, it was just down to good coaching.

“He got the lads playing and enjoying themselves and I want that as a captain. You play your best rugby with a smile on your faces.”

Smith was not surprised that Kear left Wakefield to throw his hat in the ring for the Bulls job, even though they are facing life in the third tier for the first time in their history.

“You look around and this isn’t a small club,” he added.

“I got shown a stat the other day with the all-time Super League list and we’re still fifth for the number of games played. We’ve been out of it for four seasons.

“It’s incredible and that shows how massive this club still is.

“We’ve been on a downward spiral for a long time. Even though I’m a Leeds lad, it was sad to see Bradford go down like that.

“I remember the derbies. I was an academy lad when I played at Odsal and it was unbelievable playing before them.

“Now I’m on the other side and trying to help us get back.

“It’s tough to see where we are at but that’s the challenge for us. We’ve hit the bottom now and we’ve got to pick things up.

“The players are over the moon with John coming in.

“It’s a clean slate for everybody. You’ve got to go and get a position and that’s how it should be.

“We’ve got a really good culture at the moment from the work we’ve been doing for the past five weeks and I’m sure John sees that.

“I’m proud and privileged to be captain of such a big club and it’s an honour that he chose me. I just can’t wait to get started.”