TWO MORE YEARS OF KEAR

BRADFORD Bulls are delighted to announce head coach John Kear has put pen-to-paper on a two-year contract extension – keeping him at the club until at least the end of the 2022 campaign.

The two-time Challenge Cup winner arrived at the Bulls prior to the start of the 2018 season – immediately securing promotion back to the Betfred Championship. 

A stunning cup run saw Kear’s men stun Super League giants Leeds Rhinos to reach the quarter finals – which coincided with an impressive league campaign saw them finish one point outside the play-off places.

The 65-year-old has spoken of his delight having extended his stay – insisting his side have ‘unfinished business’ and are eager to kick on across the next two years of his tenure.

“I am really pleased to have committed to the club for another two years – I believe the club has made massive strides forward off the field and there is a sense of unfinished business about how we have progressed on the field,” said Kear, who is sponsored by Bradford Bulls Banter.

“There is a lot of uncertainty around the sport at the moment and I believe it is a commendable show of confidence by the club to look to start making plans despite the uncertainty. We have plenty of optimism that we can build on what we have already achieved and push towards our goals in the next couple of the years. 

“We want to continue where we left off prior to the season being halted – we were playing well and the younger players were maturing and I am sure we can still have a meaningful season.

“We want to build a squad that can form the nucleus of a side for years to come and having spoken with Mark [Sawyer] – we were keen to get this deal done so we can look at retaining and signing players.

“There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes regarding returning to training and making sure there is a safe environment for staff and players and it will be interesting to see if we can pick up where we left off.

“I have nothing but admiration for what we have achieved on the field since I came to the club and I was sure we would kick on this year - I just want to get back out there when it is safe and look forward.

“I am sure the fans will be eager to get back – if they stick with us there are positives times ahead I am certain.”

Bradford Bulls Chief Executive Mark Sawyer said:- “Obviously the sport is going through some tricky and uncertain times at the moment but this is being felt everywhere, by all sorts of businesses. 

"The club and its backers are doing their very best to navigate ourselves through the current turmoil and our long term objectives remain unchanged. To achieve that we have to start thinking about the future and who we wanted to lead the charge and JK was the obvious solution. 

"John has been extremely helpful and understanding during the current crisis and I feel the club can only go from strength to strength under his leadership."