John Bateman has hopes of the Bradford Bulls reaching former glories in 2014, and believes the influence of outgoing stalwart Jamie Langley can live on.

Langley, who plied his trade at the Provident Stadium for 13 years, left for pastures new at the end of last season to join Hull KR on a one-year-deal, and his departure marks the end of an era.

The 29-year-old forward is the last player to leave who played a part in Bradford’s previous Grand Final and World Club Challenge wins.

Those glory days, where the Bulls featured for five straight years at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2005 under Brian Noble, are long gone after five years outside the play-offs.

But Bateman’s expectations have not dropped, and he believes Bradford simply have to perform next campaign.

“It was good last year at times but don’t get me wrong- not making the play-offs was not good enough,” said Bateman, who missed the end of the season due to injury.

“It’s not acceptable with our high standards if I’m being honest, and we’ll definitely be looking to achieve that.

“But we don’t really like talking about making the play-offs and how we are going to get into the play-offs because I just expect to make them really.

“That’s what all the players here expect us to do, and with the squad that we have we should be entitled to think that.

“We’ll definitely be play-off contenders next season and pushing towards that Grand Final at the end of the year.

“Last year we thought that we did enough in pre-season but it’s obvious that we didn’t because we didn’t reach what we were capable of.

“That means that we’ve all got to work even harder to get to where we want to be.”

Bateman has followed a similar path to that of Langley so far in his career.

Both came through the ranks at Odsal and both went on to captain the England Academy against the Australian Schoolboys.

A Bradford lad and a Bulls fan himself, Bateman paid tribute to his former team-mate as the Bulls side which Langley came through in provided him with some fond memories.

“You look back on those days and that great team and you can’t help but feel that you should be doing the same as what they did,” said Bateman.

“Since I signed on, Langers was always a great influence on my career. You don’t really think about it and you definitely take it for granted because he’s always there for you in training, giving you a helping hand and giving you a little nudge.

“He was always around giving you advice, and I can’t sing his praises enough if I’m honest.

“He’s had an influence on everyone who’s come through the ranks here because he’s consistently been a fine player for the club, which he’s proved by how long he was here for.”