JOHN Kear is confident he can get the Bulls up to speed in three weeks if they get the green light to play again in 2020.

Championship and League One clubs expect to know by the end of the month whether there can be a resumption to the season that has been in mothballs since March.

The RFL have two more board meetings before the July 23 deadline they imposed to come up with a verdict.

That will be largely based on the government and whether they feel it will be feasible to allow some crowds back into games this year.

The Bulls are desperate to get going again after four months in limbo but appreciate it is out of their hands.

But chief executive Mark Sawyer insists Kear is well prepared to make up for lost time if and when they do get the nod to start again.

Sawyer said: “We had a football meeting at Bradford the other day and John made it clear that he needs three weeks.

“He says that most of the lads have kept themselves very fit off their own bat. They are desperate to play matches, not just for their financial well-being but because they love playing.

“It’s an important part of their lives and they are desperate to get back playing some matches.

“I think the fitness level will be a lot better than some people might expect. So John thinks a good three weeks and they will be ready to play.”

Super League is set to return on August 2 behind closed doors – a scenario that has been rejected by the 25 clubs in the lower divisions.

A survey carried out by the RFL made it overwhelmingly clear that playing without any fans – and matchday income – was a financial and logistical no-go in the Championship and League One.

The fate of the current season now rests on whether the government will ease social-distancing restrictions enough for limited crowd numbers to be allowed into games.

Sawyer added: “The feedback the RFL had from virtually every club was that we couldn’t afford to play behind closed doors. The reasons to even try to do that were few and far between because the costs were so prohibitive.

“We want the opportunity to play matches if we can in front of a crowd.

“The government doesn’t even know at the moment whether we’ll be allowed to play with crowds but things are moving very quickly.

“Now that it’s been decided we won’t be playing behind closed doors at any stage, we’re very much in the hands of the government relaxing the rules, even if the crowd is reduced because of social distancing.”

Should the RFL give the go-ahead, the Championship campaign will carry on from where it left off with teams scheduled to play each other once.

The Bulls were in seventh place after their four games when the season was suddenly halted in March. Leaders Toulouse, Leigh and Featherstone had all made 100 per cent starts.

A mid-September resumption would appear the most likely, although the fixture list would be geared around finishing at the end of November.

“It’s more the end date that we are looking at,” said Sawyer. “The general view is that you’ve got to be complete by the end of November.

“We’d have to have the Grand Final then and you back-track from there to work out the minimum amount of time needed to complete fixtures.Some have extra fixtures to play – Swinton have two and the Bulls and a few others have one.

“At the moment it’s totally feasible that you can complete in time, even with fitting in those extra games and play-offs, if you start at some point in September."

Whether the Grand Final winner will go up to Super League remains a moot point.

Sawyer feels promotion should still be on the table for a curtailed campaign but accepts that will be up to the governing body.

“It’s probably no more than a 50/50 chance of there being promotion and it would be disappointing if that isn’t the case.

“We’re hoping there is promotion but it may well not be for Bradford this year. But it’s important that somebody can go up.

“But that decision is out of our hands so there’s no point anyone worrying. Clubs have just got to accept that whatever’s decided, they’ve got to make a meaningful season.

“It’s very important that we reengage with the fans and have some matches or we could find ourselves not playing for 10 months.

“We've written to the season-ticket holders and the response has been terrifically positive.

"But people have got out the routine of watching rugby and it’s essential that we have the opportunity of playing a few games. We’ll definitely know by August 1 because there's no time to play with after that. It’s going to go right to the wire.”