Steve Menzies admits recent turmoil has fostered a siege mentality at the Bulls.

A nine-game losing run and the exit of coach Steve McNamara has threatened to plunge their campaign into absolute chaos but, at the eye of the storm, the players remain calm.

Assistant coach Lee St Hilaire quickly stepped into the void left by his former boss and resolve has only been strengthened by the struggles.

It could easily have gone the other way, a fact Menzies is only too aware of, and the 37-year-old Aussie hopes reinforced team spirit can be transferred to performances on the pitch.

He said: “It’s a hard situation to come into for the players, losing a head coach.

“The reasons I came to the club were the great history and Steve as a coach, so to lose him was tough on the players.

“It was tough, coming from nowhere for Lee, and a little bit of onus has come back to the senior players too.

“When something bad like that happens, the players can either distance themselves or you can become tighter, and I thought we really tightened up and stuck together. You need to do that in these circumstances when the club is not going as well as it can.

“We’ve got a job to do and that’s to go out there and play rugby league. We have to do that the best we can.”

Menzies has seen it all before.

Although he played under just three coaches during his 16 years in Manly’s first-grade side, the former Australian Test star witnessed one step down and saw another sacked.

The change at Odsal came as the result of a testing time on the pitch – the Bulls lost eight straight in the lead-up to McNamara’s departure.

Number nine followed against Salford last week and another reversal at Hull KR on Saturday would mark Bradford’s worst losing run since the club reformed in 1964.

“Once you’re out there you don’t really think about what’s happened in the past eight or nine weeks,” said Menzies. “It’s just that little bit of confidence we’re lacking.

“We’re letting teams get a couple of tries to start then we’re coming back at the end and everyone’s saying ‘good fightback, be positive’. But we need to do that little extra, whatever it is, to get two points.

“A win breeds confidence and then you can go from there.

“Just little things are really hurting us. When the team’s not playing as well as you can and you’re in a slump, then it magnifies itself, but I think we’ve been close.

“We need to find that edge and score another couple of tries when we’ve got the field position or stop those 70 or 80-metre tries that are hurting us come the last ten minutes of the game.”