Brett Kearney has admitted he faces a nervous wait to discover if the Bulls will retain their Super League status.

The club’s change of ownership into the hands of Omar Khan and Gerry Sutcliffe was finally ratified on Tuesday but a bigger battle lies ahead to stay in the top flight.

The RFL said its board will make a decision on how it will determine which competition the Bulls will be playing in by the end of this week, but it is not clear when a final decision will be made.

Khan spoke this week of his frustration at being “held back” by the uncertainty surrounding the club’s future and Kearney has expressed similar concern.

The Bulls are effectively unable to plan ahead on or off the field as they wait to learn which division they will be playing in next year.

Telegraph & Argus player of the year Kearney said: “It’s been a long, drawn-out process and has been going on for almost six months now.

“Mick has started to build a team here and I think next year would have been another year of progress.

“But with it taking so long to find out what’s happening with the club, we’re going to be stuck with recruiting players.

“We’ve already lost some players and it’s put us in a difficult situation for next year when we should have been taking the next step.

“We should have been looking towards the top four and getting among the trophies instead of trying to throw a team together.”

A number of the 17 players out of contract at the end of the season have already confirmed their departures from Odsal .

Bryn Hargreaves , Ian Sibbit and Ben Jeffries have retired and Kyle Briggs , Tom Burgess and Olivier Elima have announced moves to rival clubs.

Kearney is under contract for another year but admits he could be left scrambling round should the Bulls be forced out of Super League.

The free-scoring full back, who bagged 15 tries in 2012, revealed: “I’ve started to weigh up my options but at the moment I don’t have any other plans.

“If we found out tomorrow that the club was going to be in the Championship I would be on the phone all day trying to find something – possibly with another Super League club.

“It would also open the door to maybe move back home to Australia but I enjoy it over here.

“Barring the dramas that have hit the club this year, I’ve really enjoyed my time at the club.

“I’ve got another year left and an option for another year after that.

“Hopefully it’s not going to come to a premature end.”