SHAKERS boss Andy Preece insists Bury can yet finish as high as second in Division Three as the pacesetters struggle to put daylight between themselves and the play-off places.

Second-placed Rushden and Diamonds appeared to be cruising towards the Second Division with runaway leaders Hartlepool.

But no wins from their last three matches has allowed the chasing pack to cut their cushion to just six points, with only four points separating the next nine teams.

Shakers' defeat on Saturday actually saw them move up into fourth spot as results elsewhere came to their aid -- a fact which makes Preece even more keen to win their coming 'six-pointers' against the likes of York, Oxford and Bournemouth.

"The teams near us don't seem to want to go on and take our position," he said.

"When we lose, so do they. It just shows what the league is like at the minute. It's very tight.

"We just need to make sure we beat these teams around us to keep ourselves in a strong position.

"Rushden are definitely catchable. That gap can easily be made up over the last 15 games.

"Hartlepool are gone now. They have been consistently good all season and have beaten the teams they have to beat. But Rushden can still be caught."

Last night's clash with Oxford United was postponed due to a frozen Gigg Lane pitch, with the re-arranged fixture due to be played at on March 25.

Now Shakers' attention immediately turns to the crucial trip to sixth-placed York City on Saturday.

While Nicky Hill looks set to make a return to first team action as cover for the suspended Danny Swailes, Colin Woodthorpe is also in line for a call-up as Jamie Stuart struggles with a knee problem.

George Clegg is likely to clinch a starting place as Terry Dunfield's one-match ban, from his red card at Torquay, kicks in but striker Colin Cramb appears to have shaken off both illness and a knee injury sustained in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient.