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Murph relief

Dave Lawrenson
11/ 9/2008

BRIAN Barry-Murphy will continue to pull the strings in Bury’s midfield against Lincoln on Saturday after making a dream recovery from a knee injury.

Shakers manager Alan Knill feared that he would have to make do without Barry-Murphy’s midfield class and sweet left foot when he jarred his knee in Bury’s 1-1 stalemate at Chester at the weekend.

But Barry-Murphy has returned to full training and will line up for third-placed Bury against 16th-placed Lincoln at Gigg Lane on Saturday, September 13, kick-off 3pm.

Knill said: "Murph has done very well for us this season and I am relieved that he can play against Lincoln.

"Lincoln made a slow start to the season but they are turning things around having taken four points from their last two games.

"At the start of the season everyone thought that they would be up there challenging for promotion and I am sure that they will be come the end of the season.

"They play with a different shape to most teams and we are expecting it to be a tough game.

"But if we perform to the best of our ability it will be a very tough game for Lincoln.

"We have home advantage and we go into every home game confident nowadays. We have won both of our home games in the league this season and are turning Gigg Lane into a bit of a fortress.

"People used to come to Gigg Lane expecting us to lose and now they come expecting us to win. It has been a dramatic turnaround and I hope it will continue."

Bury are one of just two teams with an unbeaten record in League Two. And Knill is happy to see the Shakers developing a reputation for never knowing when they are beaten.

Knill, who is still on the lookout for a young striker to bring in on loan, said: "The last thing I ever want us to be is easy to beat.

"The team has showed a lot of fighting spirit so far this season.

"And they know that there is no need to panic when we concede a goal because there are goals in this team. We can always get ourselves back into a game."