BULLS' acting chief executive, Mark Sawyer, admits he hopes to have departed the club in time for the new season, while he is still determined to have the team back at Odsal for the Championship restarting in April.

On Monday, it was announced that Leigh would be taking the final Super League spot for 2021, meaning second-tier rugby league and the 1895 Cup for Bulls next season.

The cup is due to begin in March, with Sawyer admitting home games then are likely to be in Dewsbury.

But he had some good news for fans, as he stated the club's intention to put season tickets on sale this week, as well as plans to stream fixtures if all or some fans cannot attend due to coronavirus restrictions.

Discussing Bulls missing out on Super League, Sawyer said: "We entered the race to win it, but the others all made great applications too.

"None more so than Leigh, who are deserving of their place.

"I'm just pleased someone got promoted. It would have been more disappointing if Super League had just gone with 11 teams for next year. A Championship side deserved that opportunity."

He added: "At Bulls, we can now get on with delivering those key goals of ours, which are getting ourselves back to Bradford and renovating Odsal from January."

Sawyer insisted Monday's Super League decision has had no bearing on Bulls' plans to come home, saying: "There's no change there and we're hoping to return to Odsal and have everything signed off by April.

"We're looking to bring in the motorsport and they've said they can't get everything they need done until April, so we're the same.

"If there are some games earlier than that, we have the option to play at Dewsbury, but we're just keen for crowds anywhere.

"We're looking to put season tickets out this week, as we've had a lot of fans asking if we can before Christmas.

"But if some or all fans can't get in due to social distancing, we're going to look at streaming the games.

"Season ticket holders would get free access to that, and anyone else wanting to watch can just pay a fee for the game(s) they're wanting."

But Dewsbury chairman Sawyer hopes he won't be at Bulls by the time those games are taking place, admitting: "I'm looking to stand down as chief executive before the beginning of the season.

"We need a good structure fully in place before I go, and I'm still going to retain my shares in the club.

"I was only supposed to be here to guide us through a couple of months of Covid, and now it's nearly nine.

"But this club needs its own chief executive, and we'll see who comes in to take up the role."

Sawyer also confirmed Bulls would be looking to release a podcast soon, answering any pressing questions the fans have ahead of the new season.