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Shakers shorts

BURY director Ian Harrop has appealed to the club’s fans to come out in numbers and support their much improved team.

Bury have enjoyed a stunning start to the season and are playing some of their best football for years under manager Alan Knill. He said: "Our supporters who come down week after week are fantastic – nobody appreciates them more than the board because they are very genuine and loyal. They get behind the team, they are really getting behind the manager and if we can get our gates over 3,500 we could start to move the club forward as quickly as we can. We are hoping to attract more fans and we have got a family stand that is well stewarded, so there is no swearing and nothing that will deter people from coming and having a good day. I class our level as grassroots football. We are one of the cheapest football clubs to watch in the league and we want to encourage people to bring their kids down – they are the next generation. We appreciate that money is tight for lots of people so we are determined to entertain people enough so that they come down again."

• BURY boss Alan Knill is challenging his players to continue their sensational start to the season. The Shakers are lying in an automatic promotion spot following their best start to a season in 51 years. But Knill said: "Making the best start in 51 years is great but I would prefer the best finish in 51 years if possible. We are delighted but you can see that there are some warning signs and sometimes you can get carried away. You start to think that you are a better player, a better manager or a better coach than you actually are. People keep patting you on the back but now we are waiting for the fall. People are already saying that the wheels are going to come off Bury sooner or later. They will say that we can’t sustain this. We are there to be shot down but we think we have a strong dressing room that wants to prove people wrong."
• SHAKERS director Ian Harrop has praised manager Alan Knill for the club’s improving fortunes and he is predicting a promotion party come May. Harrop said: "I wouldn’t tend to go too overboard at the moment. All I would say is that, in Alan Knill, we think we have got the right man to take the club forward. Alan has instilled a new ethic in the club. Everyone gives 100 per cent so, hopefully, the results will continue on the pitch and that will help us. This season we are quietly confident. We don’t think we will struggle. I think we can put out a team that can compete with any team in this division, if we stay clear of injuries. I think the league is wide open this year. The teams that have come down aren’t as strong as the MK Dons. It’s an open league and I am confident we can be competing for at least the play-offs this season – that’s our short-term aim."
• BURY midfielder Stephen Dawson is relishing a potential promotion push after three years of battling against relegation. Dawson is quickly becoming a fans’ favourite at Gigg Lane after being signed from relegated Mansfield in the close season. And he hopes to continue his fantastic form in the derby clash at Rochdale this Saturday, August 30, kick-off 3pm. Dawson said: "I can’t praise the manager and the staff here enough. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms and I love it here. And it’s nice to be at the top of the table. It’s early doors but we have made a great start. We’ve got two away games now so it’ll be tough but I think we’ve got the squad and the manager to keep doing well. We’re all digging deep and the team spirit is brilliant. I know how important the Rochdale game is and we will be giving it our best shot."
• BURY versus Rochdale is the ninth best derby in the Football League, according to a new book. The Lancashire rivals, who clash at Spotland at the weekend, scores well as one to watch in a new book called ‘Mad For It’, which was written by Andy Mitten. Focusing on the Shakers’ clashes with Rochdale, Mitten writes: "This Lancashire derby is certainly unique for the surreal statistic that the last 30 matches have produced only three home wins. However, there is an explanation. So uninspiring are the attendance figures that either side attracts at home, the sense of occasion is always greater for the visiting team when they run out in enemy territory backed by nearly 50 per cent of the gate. Only eight miles separate the two towns and it’s fair to say the natives of each never take too kindly when it’s their turn to be invaded."
• ALAN Knill insists that his Bury strikers Andy Bishop, Andy Morrell and Glynn Hurst will strike fear into opposition defences throughout the League Two season. Bishop and Morrell played up front together for the first time in Saturday’s home win against Morecambe. And manager Knill said: "It’s early days with the two strikers (Bishop and Morrell). Bish missed last week so they are both lacking match fitness. But when they are at top fitness and they have had the chance to work together I am sure they will be a lot better. To be fair to Hursty as well, we have three strikers that will strike fear in this league. Glynn is a goal scorer and he’s done that throughout his career. Whichever of the two plays, I know they will make it uncomfortable for the opposition."
• NEW Bury striker Andy Morrell is relishing being part of the Shakers’ three-pronged attack with Glynn Hurst and Andy Bishop. He said: "Bish has had a fair few headlines in the past and to score over 20 goals in each of the last two seasons is a great effort. He’s a good goal scorer and then there is Hursty, who worked his socks off against Chesterfield. That rubs off on you and you work just as hard to help him out. I understand that there is a bit of pressure on but we have good strikers at this club. We have got a good little squad and if we keep everyone injury free there is no reason why we can’t do well this season. Hopefully, the three of us can score enough goals to keep us up there in the table."
• BURY captain Paul Scott is up for a player of the year award in the Northwest Football Awards. The 28-year-old will go up against Danny Adams (Morecambe), Gary Jones (Rochdale), Paul Linwood (Chester), Paul Mullin (Accrington) and Danny Thomas (Macclesfield). Bury fans can vote for Scotty by visiting the website: northwestfootballawards.co.uk. The winner will be announced at the Northwest Football Awards at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, on Monday, November 17.
• BURY fans will once again walk to the Rochdale away game this Saturday, August 30. The six-and-a-half miles walk, organised by the Forever Bury fan group, will begin at Gigg Lane at 10.30am and many pubs will be visited en route to Spotland. The aim of the walk is to raise money for the club and sponsorship forms are available from the main reception at Gigg Lane, which can be contacted on: 0161 764 4881.
• BURY boss Alan Knill has ordered his players to make their Gigg Lane home a fortress this season. The Shakers had the worst home record in the Football League before winning five of their last six games of the 2007/08 season under Knill’s leadership. Knill said: "We made Gigg Lane a bit of a fortress when I came to the club and I want that to continue."
• BURY midfielder Richie Baker believes that the League One play-offs, and maybe even automatic promotion, are realistic targets this season. For he has been impressed with ‘the good signings’ of Wayne Brown, Efe Sodje, Stephen Dawson, Danny Racchi, Michael Jones, Elliott Bennett and Andy Morrell. He said: "The new lads have shown they have plenty of ability."
• A HOST of Manchester United stars will no doubt grace the Gigg Lane turf when Bury reserves host United’s reserve team in the opening game of the Manchester Senior Cup on Wednesday, September 3, kick-off 2pm.

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