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Offers tabled

Dave Lawrenson
1/ 5/2008

RISING stars Nicky Adams and David Buchanan have been offered new contracts by Bury this week – and manager Alan Knill is ‘confident’ that both players will be staying put.

The under-21s internationals are two of 14 Bury players nearing the end of their current contracts. The others are Dave Challinor, Brian Barry-Murphy, Glynn Hurst, Colin Woodthorpe, Andy Parrish, Andy Mangan, Jim Provett, Aaron Grundy, Cameron Belford, Dale Stephens, Jordan Stepien and Ben Leonard.

Knill has now decided who he wants to stay. And he will be revealing the names of the players he has opted to release next week with the most likely departures being Woodthorpe, Mangan, Grundy, Belford, Stepien and Leonard.

But Knill’s main priority is keeping young player of the year Adams and Buchanan at the club.

Knill said: "They are both very good young players who have done well for me since I joined the club.

"We have offered them new contracts and I am confident that they will both stay.

"If anyone wants them they are going to have to fork out some money because of their age and the fact that they both came through the system here.

"But hopefully there will be no takers out there for them and they will sign their new deals here."

The amazing turnaround in on-field fortunes since Knill’s arrival at the start of February will surely enhance the club’s chances of retaining their wanted out of contract players.

And it will undoubtedly help in attracting new players to the club. Knill has identified several transfer targets as he looks to take the Shakers forward and he has recently been making ‘a lot of calls’ about their availability.

The Shakers were steeped deep into a League Two relegation battle when Knill first walked through the door.

Three months on, they will better the 58 points total of their impressive 2004/05 campaign if they win at 17th-placed Accrington Stanley on Saturday, May 3, kick-off 3pm.

It is 15th-placed Bury’s final game of the season and Knill has been hammering home to his players the importance of ending the campaign on a high.

Knill said: "Ever since we became mathematically safe I’ve been saying that we need to push on from there and we have done that with the performances we have been putting in and results we have been getting.

"So it would be a real shame if we ended up blowing that in the final game of the season.

"It is so important to do well in your last game as it always seems to be a long wait before the new season starts. A win puts a smile on the players’ and the fans’ faces going into that wait.

"Accrington is a difficult place to go. They play very well in some games and not so well in others.

"They have one of the best midfielders in the league in Ian Craney. But we are definitely going there looking for three points to take us to 59 points for the season – which would be a pretty good haul.

"I just want the players to carry on performing like they have been doing."

Centre back Ben Futcher is expected to play against Accrington, who Bury beat 2-1 at home back in September, despite picking up a hip injury in the 1-1 draw with Rochdale at the weekend.

Midfielder Barry-Murphy will return to the side on Saturday having recovered from a thigh injury.

Defender Andy Parrish is also available for a recall following an ankle injury problem.

Simon Yeo has shaken off a back problem but will not feature while fellow striker Mangan (groin) plus defenders Challinor (knee) and Paul Morgan (knee) will remain on the sidelines.