Andy Lynch insists the Bulls players owe it to Steve McNamara to secure a spot in the Super League play-offs.

McNamara stepped down last week following a string of eight consecutive defeats, yet Lynch feels his former boss was let down by faltering individual performances.

Bradford travel to Hull KR this evening (5.15pm) needing a win to reignite hopes of a top-eight finish and Lynch is keen to finish the job started by his old mentor.

He said: “We were gutted when Macca left. It took everyone a couple of days to get over it but then we got the good news that Lee (St Hilaire) was taking over.

“I owe Macca a lot because he probably got me to where I am now. Hopefully I can repay that faith by finishing strong at the end of this year and getting Bradford into the top eight.

“That’s how all the players can repay him really, by playing well for Lee and getting us into the top eight, because I’m sure Macca will still be thinking about how Bradford are going, he won’t just switch off.

“When the team’s going well it’s about how well the players are doing but as soon as we have a bad patch it’s about the coach. They never get the praise and nobody sees the hours they’re putting in behind the scenes.”

St Hilaire will remain in charge until the end of the season, having assumed the hot-seat ahead of last week’s 30-26 defeat against Salford, and Lynch is confident Bradford can finish strongly under his leadership.

First, the Bulls face an in-form Hull KR needing victory to avoid a run of ten straight defeats, which would represent their worst streak since the club reformed in 1964.

Lynch said: “Lee is an awesome coach to work under. He’s going to have his own ideas to bring in over the next couple of weeks, which he’s starting to do now, and I think they’ll pay off.

“The ideas he did bring in against Salford worked but we need to improve pretty sharpish.”

But the Bulls skipper insists responsibility for improving performances sits largely with the players.

Lynch has called for his team-mates to conduct a harsh examination of their own individual failings and cut out the basic errors that have killed the team in recent weeks.

He said: “There’s a lot of individual players making blips that have cost us big really. You could probably say the same every week but we need to look at individual performances.

“If everyone can cut down on the errors they make, that’s 17 less blips in a game and goes a long way to getting our performance right and getting the two points.

“It’s all about individual preparation.

“Everyone needs to be mentally and physically switched on and prepare to the best of their ability. If we do that, I have no doubts we can beat anyone on our day.”