Staying at Bradford is easy for Gaskell

Lee Gaskell has revealed that making the decision to commit to the Bradford Bulls earlier this week was easy.

Although Bradford will be in the Championship next season, Gaskell has inked a new deal with the club which will keep him at Odsal until the end of the 2016 season.

The presence at the club of coach James Lowes was also a key factor in Gaskell’s decision.

“I was very grateful to be given the opportunity to play week in, week out at what is still a massive name in rugby league,” the halfback told his club’s official website.

“Since Jimmy has come in he has been great with me, as he has the rest of the lads, and I am now back in the position in which I feel I can be more of a threat.

“He was a big factor in my decision, he has been great with us since taking over. He has come in and told us to express ourselves and improved our level of self-belief.

“It is a great feeling when your coach tells you he believes in you and it helped my decision as I knew I had the faith of Jimmy. I now want to repay that.”

The 23-year-old former St Helens man also feels he has a debt to repay to the club’s supporters.

“I owe a lot to this club. Our supporters have been brilliant and we are looking to come straight back up next season,” he said.

“It looks as though there could be a host of new faces coming in and it would be nice to see a few of the other boys stay put too.

“I just want to be able to go out there, give my all and perform because I really love it here.”