Don’t be fooled by the broad Humber twang or the black and white past, Steve McNamara is Bradford through and through.

Take the boy out of Hull, throw in ten years with the Bulls and it’s impossible to take Odsal out of the boy.

Undoubtedly, McNamara split opinion during his time at the club, mainly the past four years as head coach, but nobody can deny he has left his mark on Bradford – just as Bradford has left its mark on him.

The former Great Britain international made the tough decision to switch Hull FC for the Bulls as a player in 1996, cutting ties with his home-town black and whites to start the first chapter in a ten-year association with his adopted club.

And while that association ended in less than ideal circumstances yesterday, his memories are not tinged with regret, rather a fondness for what he is leaving behind.

McNamara said: “Bradford’s like a second home to me. I spent four years there as a player and ten years altogether and I’m very proud to be associated with the club.

“I’m proud to have been given the chance to play for them, to captain them and particularly to coach them and it’s very sad when you have to leave. But this decision is in everyone’s best interests.”

The decision to leave had been taken in April, when McNamara accepted an offer to coach his country following two years as an assistant to previous England boss Tony Smith.

But first the 38-year-old had hoped to sign off in style at Odsal, by leading his side to a first piece of silverware since succeeding Brian Noble as head coach in 2006.

That seemed a strong possibility when the Bulls cracked Super League’s top four with victory at Wakefield in May, while looking forward to a Challenge Cup quarter-final against Warrington.

Instead a run of eight straight defeats – the club’s worst sequence in the summer era – sparked a slide to tenth and last week’s 35-18 loss at Harlequins proved to be the end of the line, with McNamara admitting the time was right to step aside.

“I made the decision to take my career in a different direction back in April and initially the preference had been to start the full-time role with England then,” he said.

“It was agreed that wouldn’t be the best thing for the club at the time but now it is right to part ways.

“Nobody has been happy with results recently. If we had managed to keep the squad fit and things had been different, maybe we would have stayed near the top of the competition.

“It would’ve been nice to finish with some success but there’s a whole lot of good work we should be really proud of, right from the top to the bottom, and the foundations are in place to take the team forward.”

McNamara refuses to seek excuses for disappointing results both this season and last, when the Bulls missed out on a Super League play-off spot for the first time.

But the new England chief is confident he has left a strong legacy for his successor, particularly in terms of talent development.

Having taken over the reins during a period of relative decline and belt-tightening, McNamara has introduced a renewed focus on sustainable growth centred on youth – perhaps unsurprising considering his early coaching reputation was built on Grand Final success with the Bulls Academy.

That has manifested itself through the emergence of several young stars this season, including Elliott Whitehead, James Donaldson and Danny Addy, while the move to a new training base at Tong School will reap similarly long-term benefits.

McNamara said: “I don’t have any regrets at all. We have always tried to make decisions based on what’s best for the long-term future of the club and we’ve never made short-term decisions to chase immediate success.

“You’re maybe not seeing it on the pitch at the moment but the hope in the future is that an experienced core can be supplemented by youth development to bring sustainable success.

“With some further investment, the club could really kick on to the next level.”