Saturday’s visitors to the Merseyrail Community Stadium are Bury who unfortunately suffered a torrid EFL League One campaign last season finishing 15 points off safety.



Pre-Season
Heading into the final game of pre-season both sides have had a productive summer, with the Port having enjoyed an unbeaten public pre-season so far. Meanwhile Bury have endured mixed results with three draws, two defeats and only one win so far.

The Shakers however have taken on some big sides in preparation for their upcoming EFL League Two campaign, where they will be looking to bounce back at first time of asking with promotion.

They began pre-season on the road at Ibrox, suffering a 6-0 defeat to Rangers in Steven Gerrard’s first match in charge of the Glasgow outfit.

That was followed by another big defeat, this time at the hands of Premier League opposition, Huddersfield, who put four past a struggling Bury side.

Things improved in the following two games, earning themselves two well fought draws against two Merseyside visitors. With a 0-0 against Liverpool and a 1-1 against Everton.

Their first victory of the summer came on an away trip to Chester, who the club will face this season in a mouth-watering double header over the festive period.

Bury’s game at the Deva Stadium ended 1-0, with new signing Gold Omotayo getting the winner.

Their most recent match against local side Radcliffe FC ended in a 2-2 draw, with manager, Ryan Lowe, seeing positives with the results ahead of what will be a big year.

Ryan Lowe
The job of gaining promotion won’t be an easy one for Lowe, who has been trusted with the role on a permanent basis after finishing the season in temporary charge.

During his playing career, the former striker enjoyed three spells with Bury, and was on hand numerous times last year to step into the top job.

The first occasion came back in October following the dismissal of Lee Clark, eight months after he got the role, with only nine wins in 33 games.

During Lowe’s six games in charge, Bury won twice, drew twice and lost twice, before the club appointed former captain Chris Lucketti as permanent manager.

Lucketti’s time back at Gigg Lane was short lived, as he was sacked after only ten games in charge, failing to win a single league game, becoming the third manager to be sacked by the club in 14 months.

Lowe once again took over the reins, being handed the role of caretaker manager until the end of the season. Despite an inevitable relegation, Lowe did enough to convince the club he was the right man to take the club forward again.

Signings
The club have brought in a number of new faces during the summer, with the likes of Chris Dagnall, Chris Stokes and Nicky Adams all arriving on free transfers.

The new attacking signings, such as Dagnall, will be crucial to determining where Bury will finish in the league, with a shortage of goals being a big factor in their relegation last season.

Lowe will be hoping their most recent signing, Dom Telford, will help them do exactly that. The former Stoke striker scored against Bury whilst on loan at Bristol Rovers last season and created interest from the club with his performance that day.

Telford could make his first appearance on Saturday and could very well be a threat to look out for.

Final Thought
Bury still remain a team rebuilding after a tough relegation, but the draws against Liverpool and Everton still shows they are not to be underestimated and will be great final test before the National League North season begins a week later.

Ticketing
Coming to the game? Get your ticket online here. Remember Season Ticket holders get complimentary entry.

Paying on-the-day? You need to visit our Club Shop on Haig Avenue before heading to the turnstile. Please leave enough time for this. Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm.

Written by Amos Wynn