BULLS' interim head coach Lee Greenwood has defended the decision to omit Billy Jowitt from the squad on Monday night, insisting his side had more than enough quality to beat Barrow.

Bradford had chance to get a firm grip on the play-offs, but are still looking over their shoulders after a poor 14-10 defeat against the lowly Raiders at Odsal on Viaplay Sports, with Greenwood admitting the performance showed they were "nowhere near" challenging for promotion.

Jowitt signed a new deal last month, to the delight of fans, but since returning from injury, he has either being 18th man, or not involved, despite showing great form earlier in the season.

Greenwood said: "We had a couple of decisions to make on a couple of players.

"Late withdrawals at the end of the week meant that we had to have a reshuffle, with Joe (Arundel) coming back into the back row.

"We had James Segeyaro unavailable due to his hamstring, so that meant we had a decision to make around that.

"Obviously, Tom Holmes came in to strengthen the pack too, so I don’t think team selection contributed to that level of performance.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tom Holmes made his first appearance since the draw with Halifax in mid-June.Tom Holmes made his first appearance since the draw with Halifax in mid-June. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

"We had enough quality out there to go and win the game."

Greenwood would not rule out any late signings to try and help Bulls turn things around at Batley on Sunday either, saying: “I’m not sure, but we are going to try.

"We will be trying our hardest. I’m not saying that you should be at Tong car park waiting for me to wind my window down to reveal who we’ve got, but I’m hoping that we can bring or two in.”

Regardless of whether there are changes of personnel for Batley or not, Bulls will have to improve significantly on Monday night's display to have any hope of a result.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Lee Gaskell was one of Bulls' summer signings but are any more on the way?Lee Gaskell was one of Bulls' summer signings but are any more on the way? (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Batley sit fourth, and Bradford could go within a point of the Bulldogs with a win.

But a defeat for the Bulls could leave them just a point from dropping out of the play-off places, depending on other results.

Asked after the Barrow defeat if Sunday's game was now a must-win affair, Greenwood said: “No, I wouldn’t say that.

"We go into every game thinking it’s a must-win because we don’t want to just stay where we are, we want to try and close the gap and catch the teams above, while keeping the distance between the teams behind us.

"We’ve not been able to do it tonight, but nothing has really changed in the league table.

“We’ve been focusing on building performances and then we believe the results will follow.

"Generally, the results have come when we’ve played well.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Bulls were superb in this win over London Broncos in mid-June, but their results have been patchy ever since.Bulls were superb in this win over London Broncos in mid-June, but their results have been patchy ever since. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

"Batley isn’t a must-win but it’s a game that we must treat as a must-win because we don’t want to be losing again.

“We’ve got to be on it. Thankfully, we are still in an alright position, but we have missed a couple of opportunities now to distance ourselves from the team in seventh.

“Rather than looking ahead to next season, it’s a short-term thing for us (Greenwood and Brian Noble) and that means getting into the play-offs and then having a real go at promotion if we get there.

“However, on tonight’s showing and a couple of others, we are nowhere near.”