Bulls boss Steve McNamara believes victory against Salford was a clear sign his side are heading in the right direction.

Bradford edged a tough arm wrestle 7-0 to claim their first win at The Willows since 2005 and record back-to-back Super League wins.

It was not quite the attacking masterclass they had put on to beat Castleford the week before but, according to McNamara, it was a game they would have lost in the past.

“Quite possibly in the past, we may not have pushed on with that game,” he said.

“One of the reasons why we brought the type of personnel we did into our organisation was to win as many of those tight games as we could.

“This was a big stepping stone in the right direction in that respect.”

The Bulls enjoyed a mountain of possession throughout the first half but their only try came after a superb piece of play from Brett Kearney released Steve Menzies.

It was defence that starred after the break and McNamara praised his players’ resilience.

He said: “It was probably one of the only pieces of quality within the game. It was a lovely try, well-executed.

“In the first ten minutes, we bombed a couple of clear-cut chances and I do think we dominated possession and field position but didn’t come up with the right play.

“But we were very gritty and very determined and I thought our goal-line defence was great.”

Meanwhile, McNamara does not expect Rikki Sheriffe to be sidelined for long after being withdrawn at half-time with a hamstring problem.

“He’s got a tight hamstring and it was preventing him from running at full speed,” said the Bulls chief.

“I think he’s going to be okay but he wasn’t at full pelt and in those conditions it was difficult.”