HE may have only just left Gigg Lane but Jon Newby can't wait to make a return visit with his new club Huddersfield Town early in September.

Newby is just one of a handful of players who have left the Shakers this summer as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

But the former Liverpool striker, who signed a two-year deal with the Terriers last week, was reluctant to leave Bury and is keen to point out that he was never offered a contract.

And that's something that disappoints the Warrington-born player who speaks glowingly of his 2 years with the club.

"People probably think I've gone chasing money by going to Huddersfield but that isn't the case as I've gone for less than I was on at Bury," he explained.

"I spoke to six other teams during the summer and could have gone to one of those and been on more pay than I am getting at the McAlpine.

"I just felt Huddersfield was the right move for me but I was disappointed that Bury didn't offer me a new contract because I would have seriously considered it even though I understand I would have been on less money."

Newby had a meeting with manager Andy Preece in the middle of May and was told by the boss that he'd like to keep him on a footballing point of view.

But at that moment in time as he was a free agent and other clubs would be courting him it was impossible for him to offer him terms without knowing what the other clubs were offering.

The next day Newby received a letter from the chairman informing him that he had been released and was available for transfer.

"I have always had a good relationship with the gaffer and always will do.

"He wanted to keep me but I think some people higher up in the club wanted me to go for a while because of my wages.

"I just wish they'd have offered me a new deal."

Despite a relegation and the disappointment of losing out in the promotion play-offs last season Newby still has fond memories of his time at Gigg.

And although he received a certain amount of stick from a section of Shakers fans towards the end of his spell there is clearly no animosity on his part.

"I felt totally at home at Bury and still have a lot of friends there. My relationship with Andy Preece and Graham Barrow is great and when it's time to go back in the first week of September I'll be looking forward to it.

"I'd like to thank the fans for their support in my time there, too. I had a great rapport with the majority of them and it was only in the last six months that a few began to criticise me.

"But you are always going to get that in football wherever you go, it's part and parcel of the game."

And to prove that the Gigg Lane club has got under his skin Newby admits that Bury's will be the first result he will look for back in his Huddersfield dressing room.

"People think that coming from Liverpool Football Club that I would support them but as far as I am concerned Bury were my first club," he declared.

"They gave me the chance to play regular first team football for the past 2 years and I'll never forget that."

Southport-based Newby, still only 24, is now hoping to move nearer Huddersfield and hasn't ruled out settling in the Bury area.

Home - and this black pudding town - is clearly where the heart is for Newbs!