NEW Bradford Town boss Rob Mallett is unconcerned by the volume of players departing to join his predecessor Danny Greaves at Frome Town.

Darren Behcet, Rickie Scott, Dan Cottle, Will Hailston and Matt Morris have all opted to follow in Greaves’ footsteps to join Frome Town and feature in the Southern League.

While the departures have left a significant hole in his squad, Mallett is unconcerned by the task ahead – adding he had prior knowledge of Greaves’ intentions having spoke to the former boss before taking on the role.

He said: “Before I took the job I did my due diligence. I spoke to Danny Greaves the outgoing manager to get an idea of the players that would be likely to be moving to Frome Town with him.

“I also had a chat with the chairman with regards to what would be available to build a new squad.

“I’m very happy with what I’ve got to work with, it’s now a case of sitting down with the remaining players and finding out what their plans are this season.

“From there it will be a case of speaking to new signings and getting them in as soon as we can.

“The players that have gone were not unexpected to me, I certainly didn’t come into the job blind.

“I’m not sat here thinking ‘I wasn’t expecting that’. I’ve got a shortlist of players for specific positions that will make us as strong, if not stronger, than what we were last season.

“The first thing we need to do is get the commitments from the existing lads, that will build a platform for us to work from and get new signings over the line.

“I’ve had chats with a dozen players over the last week and the response has been positive.

“But we need to start putting some names to paper now.”

Mallett acted quickly to announce Rob Simmonds as his assistant at Bradford and keeping some continuity in the club was part of his plan as he plots a route out of the Toolstation Premier Division.

He said: “One thing I really wanted was to have some continuity – someone that knew the club and knew what it was all about.

“I met on Wednesday and he ticked all the boxes on that front.

“He knows the club inside out, to have that connection with the club is crucial for me.

“Between the two of us, we compliment each other well.”