Bulls coach Francis Cummins has paid tribute to his players’ efforts during pre-season as he braces himself to potentially lose a number of them.

It was revealed earlier this week that the Bulls must save £400,000 during the next 12 months in order to stay alive.

That will almost certainly lead to the departure of a number of Cummins’ squad, with London Broncos a possible destination.

The Broncos have lost 16 players since the end of last season and, provided they secure a move to Barnet to stave off administration, they will begin recruiting for the 2014 campaign.

That has opened the door for the Bulls to offload players to the capital club as they seek to lower their wage bill and make vital savings.

Cummins, whose squad has remained intact so far, has taken a pragmatic view on the situation and accepted that players could go.

But he has been left delighted with the spirit and attitude shown by his men at their Tong training base since returning for pre-season.

“The squad has taken a massive leap forward,” said the Bulls boss.

“They came back in great shape, which always helps, and they are almost challenging each other to be better.

“The results have gone through the roof – their body shapes are changing, the facilities are good, the level of professionalism from my staff and the working environment is brilliant.

“I’ve had some of my senior players, some of whom have played in the NRL, tell me they’ve not had something as good as this before.

“It’s just a shame we can’t play at the moment but all we can do is train and keep really tight as a group.

“Whatever will happen will happen. All we can do is keep working hard and improving.”

Meanwhile, the Bulls’ pre-season friendly at Dewsbury has been put back from Sunday, January 19 to Sunday, January 26 (kick-off 3pm).