Bulls coach confident his side will be good enough

He has had a long winter to contemplate what went wrong in 2009, the former giants having failed to make the play-offs for the first time after picking up just seven victories in their first 22 fixtures.

A late rally saw them impressively win their last five games but they agonisingly just missed out on the top eight.

Bradford were let to rue some horrendous earlier slip-ups where they surrendered big leads, the most alarming of which came in the Challenge Cup when they wasted a 26-0 advantage against Catalans Dragons.

However, there has been a major overhaul since with 10 players departing and six new arrivals ahead of their February 5 opener at Huddersfield.

"We're looking to rectify some of those weaknesses," said McNamara. "We got ourselves in far too many winning positions only to not go on and finish it off.

"But we have made big strides in terms of making sure we now have some players there who, once we're in that position, know how to close the game out.

"We've managed to snare some big names, have good young players coming through, too, and, with the budget we're working with, we're very happy with what we've got.

"We need a touch of fortune and the footballing gods to be shining down on us but I believe we'll be good enough to compete and beat any side in the competition."

Australian scrum-half Matt Orford may be short in stature but is huge in class.

The high-profile capture from Manly is the sort of experienced operator whose mental edge should help transform Bradford's fortunes in those tight situations.

He is joined by two fellow Manly team-mates in hooker Heath L'Estrange and second row Glenn Hall, who all won the NRL Grand Final with Orford in 2008, while another Australian – stand-off Brett Kearney – arrives from Cronulla to replace Ben Jeffries.

Utility back Stuart Reardon returns for a second spell at Odsal after an injury-jinxed couple of years and prop Danny Sculthorpe has joined from Wakefield Trinity Wildcats after impressing on loan at Huddersfield Giants in the second half of the last campaign.

"Obviously, with the disappointment and frustration at not making the play-offs, this is a big season but so are they all," said McNamara.

"The way we finished last year off showed the potential of what we can do and it has certainly inspired everyone ahead of this one."

Injuries dogged the Bulls last time out, especially with key forwards such as Glenn Morrison and David Solomona, and that was part of the reason they laboured so long.

McNamara hopes new head of physical performance Geoff Evans, with his vast knowledge of sport science, will help restrict the number they suffer this time around.

"David Solomona and Glenn Morrison are, without doubt, quality players but we couldn't get them on the field," he said.

"We're trying to make sure we've got a squad this time that will stay out there."

The Grattan Stadium chief accepts champions Leeds Rhinos are still the act to follow but believes his own squad – without a Super League title since 2005 – can soon start challenging their monopoly.

"A lot of sides are investing heavily with Leeds and St Helens having probably had the best players come through their own systems," he said.

"Leeds have obviously won the title for the last three seasons but it's taken them a fair while to get to that stage.

"They have a group of players who have stayed together for a long period of time and are probably a good long-term role model of how to try and develop the business but we all live and play in different conditions."

The Bulls, for example, are not expecting to spend the full salary cap this season but have some players in their Academy system who they hope can replicate Leeds' triumphs in years to come.

McNamara added: "We are certainly making some big improvements.

"We're not all going to be successful short-term but we will be viable in the long-run.

"We have to make advancements in our structures and we're doing that with our new training facility at Tong.

"It's outstanding compared to what we have been in and is as good as any you would find in Super League.

"That's credit to the club for looking long-term and now we're really looking forward to getting this campaign underway."