BRADFORD Bulls media manager Luke Hopkins spoke to Bulls prop and stand-in captain Steve Crossley about moving on from the disappointing home loss to Workington.

The defeat to Workington must still be rather raw for the team?

Yes, it was very disappointing. After the defeat to York, we knew we were then going head-to-head with each other until the end of the season for the top spot.

It was a similar build-up to the Workington game, a big one, and since they beat us at their place we knew it was going to be a tough challenge. They certainly brought their best to Odsal and got the win over us again.

I want to stress it’s not the end of the season yet though. We are going to keep going even though we now must do it the hard way. We are ready to earn our spot in the Championship.

With York now holding the advantage, are the Bulls more motivated now to hunt down top spot than when we were defending it? I suppose it can be seen like that, but we honestly do just take it one game at a time. That mentality meant we never felt any pressure on us, but Workington have changed things for us now.

They were a better side than us on the day with how they moved the ball and the fact that they completed their sets, while we were poor in possession.

When we did complete ours, the end product wasn’t good enough, their play was just smarter.

York still have some tough games before the season is over, so we need to concentrate on our game, so we can take advantage of any mistakes.

We switch our focus to Keighley now and is it fair to say that this is more than just a search for two points, but a chance also to make a statement to York?

Definitely. The worst thing about the Workington defeat was that we had the following weekend off due to the Challenge Cup, and the main thing you want to do after a loss is to get back up and running the week after.

Having no game is tough, it means the loss sat with us for two weeks. It’s a fierce local derby with Keighley so they will be bringing their best to Odsal, but we need to make sure we get back on the horse and finish the season on a high.

Is the rivalry between Bradford and Keighley the perfect extra incentive to get back in pursuit of York with a win?

Yes, we need to put a lot of things right and we are at home as well, so there are lots of incentives for us to put on a good performance against Keighley.

A strong crowd is guaranteed for this game, but supporters are very disappointed with the recent setbacks, so what is your message to them to boost their confidence?

There is disappointment among the fans like there is among the players after losing the league lead, but the season isn’t over. We are still pushing for promotion.

The fans have been amazing as always, turning out in huge numbers despite us being in League One, so we just ask for them to stick with us for these last four games and the play-offs if that’s what it comes to.