The Bulls are preparing to step into a new era after Steve McNamara’s reign at the club came to a premature end.

McNamara vacated the Odsal hot-seat yesterday after agreeing to depart by mutual consent, bringing into sharper focus the search for his successor.

Bradford have been on the lookout for a coach since April – after McNamara announced his intention to take up a full-time role as England coach following the current campaign – and the search could be concluded within days.

Mick Potter and Brian McDermott have been most strongly linked to the role, although the appointment has still not been finalised, with chairman Peter Hood insisting the process must not be rushed.

“Getting the right man is absolutely paramount, however long that takes,” said Hood.

“I’m aware that some people think this process is rather long-winded but actually, if you look back at last season, I think it took Wigan nearly the whole year to appoint their head coach.

“St Helens have not yet found a new person, Huddersfield have only just done that and Catalans took a while sorting themselves out. So it is a process that inevitably takes a bit of time.

“I can certainly say we’re in the home straight and over the course of the next few days I would think we’ll find ourselves in a position to name the new coach, although that could stretch into next week.

“Once contract lawyers get involved, these things can drag on, but in the not too distant future we’ll be making an announcement.”

But McNamara’s departure will not accelerate the arrival of the new man.

The 38-year-old former Great Britain international had initially intended to combine his roles with club and country until the end of the season but a run of eight straight defeats led to the situation being reassessed.

Instead, assistant Lee St Hilaire has been appointed caretaker boss for the remainder of the season, before a full-time successor takes charge ahead of 2011.

Meanwhile, McNamara is free to assume full-time duties with England ahead of the autumn’s Four Nations tournament and Hood believes the agreement will suit everyone involved.

He said: “Steve has not been sacked. This is a mutual agreement that has been taken in the best interests of all concerned – the club, the players, the supporters, England RL and Steve McNamara.

“It was April when Steve announced he would be taking the England job, ruling him out of contention for a new job at Bradford.

“Times have moved on and the England role is now on the horizon and more and more of Steve’s time is required to think about that new role.

“So the timing now is right. Everyone would say we have had a run of results that is unacceptable so it was right to agree with Steve to relieve him of club duties, allowing him to focus on his role with England.”