BURY FC boss Graham Barrow and Manchester United and England star Gary Neville were the guests of honour at Gigg Lane when the Shakers rewarded their youngsters for the season's efforts.

The pair were on hand to present commemorative medals and prizes to players from the Centre of Excellence, as the club hosted its first ever junior presentation evening and awards ceremony in the Gigg Lane Social Club.

One of the big winners was under 9s starlet Tommy Toth, who lifted the Players' Player of the Year award for his age group, as well as receiving his trophy for triumphing in one of the many penalty shoot out competitions held at half time during first team matches this season.

There were rewards too for the Centre's coaches, most of whom work for the club in their spare time and give up most of their holidays in order to attain more coaching badges for the added benefit of the club's young proteges.

Speaking at the event, first team manager Graham Barrow said:

"The youth system is vital to the club, not only in terms of producing players, but also in providing a valuable link to the local community.

"Every team needs to have a couple of home grown lads, as you can sense the excitement amongst the fans when a local lad makes it into the team. You only need to look at the reception that Tom Kennedy gets at matches to prove that point."

The manager appears to place youth development at the forefront of his thinking, and it may not be too long before more players work their way up from the junior ranks to the first team.

He continued: "Whether or not we bring more youngsters into the team at the moment really depends on how many points we can attain, and you have to pick and chose the best time to blood young players.

"However, we've seen from the way that Jon Cartledge reacted to being thrown in at the deep end this season that some players adapt quite easily to playing at a higher level.

"You have to give the lads a chance at some point as you don't know how they'll perform until you actually play them.

"We've got a number of teenagers in the team at the moment, and hopefully this club will eventually become known for being the land of opportunity for young players."

Head of Youth Neil Hanks took the opportunity to thank some of the unsung heroes behind the scenes.

He said: "The coaching staff have done a fantastic job this season as usual.

"They'll all be off doing more courses this summer in order to gain more qualifications and badges to help the kids, giving up most of their free time and holidays to do so.

"I'd also like to thank the parents of the players who have been magnificent, both in terms of fundraising and also for the efforts they go to, driving the kids long distances so they can train and play - it's a big commitment that affects the whole family so they deserve a special mention."

Hanks told the audience that he has seen many improvements throughout the centre this season. He added: "At the start of the season, I asked for more professionalism, and that's what we've got.

"We've had excellent feedback from the Football League monitors, and what's most pleasing is when opposition clubs praise you for the performances and conduct of the lads at matches.

"With more professionalism, we've been more successful, and you can see that in the first team too."

The star attraction of the evening was Gary Neville, who was bombarded with autograph requests from dozens of keen young football fans.

After presenting every player with a commemorative medal for being part of the club this season, he advised the youngsters to "work hard and put in the maximum effort in order to achieve their potential".

If that advice is heeded, then you can expect the class of '04 to be a productive one for the Shakers in the years to come.