BULLS’ new commercial director, and former Bradford Northern player, Joe Pitts, has given an in-depth interview about what he wants to achieve at the club.

Pitts was appointed last month and comes in with an impressive business background.

He worked at BT for over 30 years, and while in the role, he secured the largest (at the time) ever outsource contract with a major UK bank, worth almost £80m.

He sponsored Bulls in a number of areas and was also CEO of Rochdale Hornets for a period of time in 2009.

On his appointment last month, he spoke briefly about being a proud Bradfordian and wanting to bring the club back to its home city, but he has talked more in-depth about re-establishing trust, and the need to work with Startrax, as they seek to bring motorsport to Odsal.

Speaking to Bulls' official YouTube channel, BullsTV, Pitts said: “The board and I can be trusted to do what we say we’re going to do; we have a five-stage plan, and we are working on this stage by stage, with the first one in getting back to Bradford.

“We respect what Startrax are doing, and they respect what we are doing, we both know that if we are both successful then we end up with an Odsal Stadium that’s buzzing.

“We want to match what Startrax are doing in a rugby league sense, in that we can use Odsal Stadium throughout the year for various reasons.

“We’ve got a vision within the management to make Odsal a success, and we would like people to get in touch if you have been involved in the past or are looking to get involved in the club.

“We have a Super League standard Our League membership, there is still interest in Bradford rugby and it’s my job to bring them back.”

Bulls have suffered major trauma over the last decade or so, going into administration on three occasions, before being liquidated at the start of 2017.

They did still compete in the Championship that year, but with just six wins from their 23 matches, on top of 12 points being deducted, they were relegated by a distance.

On the playing side, they bounced back under John Kear, and have now established themselves as a force in the second-tier.

But with former chairman Andrew Chalmers proving a controversial figure among some fans and administrators, Bulls were not the most popular off the field.

And then of course came the devastating decision in 2019 to leave their home of 85 years at Odsal to play out of town at Dewsbury.

Dewsbury chairman Mark Sawyer has had to act as saviour and help out Bulls as acting CEO over the last couple of years too.

So asked how he could get confidence back among fans and businesses, Pitts said: “It’s about building bridges and creating partnerships in the short and long term; we want to bring new people on board and people that have interacted with the club in the past.

“We’re trying to show to people and businesses that the new Bradford Bulls are a friendly and trustworthy group and that we want their support through different partnerships.

“I’ve been in the game of rugby league since I was about thirteen, so I’ve been around the game commercially and as a player for a number of years, Bradford is a club that’s in my heart too.

“We have a number of challenges that we’re facing here at the club, but they’re long-term goals we’re working on, such as getting back to Bradford and getting back into Super League.

“I’ve been speaking to different businesses, some that have previously been affiliated with the club to see what we can offer to them, and what they can offer to us.

“We are serious about coming back to Bradford, so we need to prove this to potential sponsors in the hope that they will want to come on board.

“I have one core value that I bring with myself and that is treat people how you want to be treated and that’s what we do here, we treat people with respect which is the most important thing.

“It’s going to be really hard to repair that trust that some of the sponsors and fans have lost in the club over the years after previous dealings, but it’s my job to repair that and get them back on board.”

Bulls, like any rugby league club, have been affected by a lack of revenue over the last year or so, but Pitts is confident that, with Nigel Wood coming in as chairman, they can survive and thrive.

He said: “Nigel’s a good man and ensured the club is on a safe financial footing and nothing will be done that could jeopardise the club’s future.

“It’s going to be really difficult to acquire business partnerships and sponsors after the Covid-19 pandemic, but me and the team are committed to making it work.

“I’ve been meeting with businesses that have been affected to see what value we can add to their business, and what value they can add to us as a club.”

Pitts may have his business head on these days, but his own playing career in rugby league was nothing to be sniffed at.

He was introduced to the game by Bradford Northern legend Trevor Foster and remained good friends with the great man long afterwards.

Pitts was a popular player in West Yorkshire, as not only did he turn out for Northern, but he had spells at Bramley, Batley, West Bowling, Idle and Greengates in a 20-year long career.