ANDY Preece has hit back at the boo boys who verbally abused him and his players during Saturday's heroic draw at Torquay United.

A small band of travelling Bury "supporters" ripped into the Shakers chief after he substituted striker David Nugent for midfielder Chris Billy in the 19th minute.

The same group also slagged off goalkeeper Glynn Garner and leading scorer Jon Newby during the match much to the anger and bemusement of the manager.

Billy's introduction was a logical move following the early sending off of fellow midfielder Terry Dunfield and the substitute rammed his detractors' words down their throats by grabbing the vital equaliser just before half time.

The sending off of Danny Swailes midway through the second half meant a real backs-to-the wall situation for the Shakers and only a magnificent display from Garner prevented the Gulls from taking all three points.

"We seem to have three or four idiots who spoil it for the rest," declared Preece.

"I don't really want to call them supporters, they just seem to antagonise everyone around them.

"Their reaction on Saturday was not what you want from your own fans. They got onto Glynn (Garner) and Jon (Newby) and their behaviour when I took off David Nugent was typical of people who don't know much about football.

"I had to make a decision like that, you can't work with three men up front when you have a player sent off.

"We tried it for ten minutes but it was asking for trouble, it would have been 2-0 and the game would have been over.

"That said, the majority of our supporters are fantastic, get behind the team no matter what and follow us through thick and thin.

'We have a good relationship between the fans and the players at the club and I don't want three or four morons to spoil that."

Crucial

On the day Preece's anger was tempered by a battling display that earned his side a crucial point against one of their rivals for a promotion berth.

"It was a fantastic performance," he added.

"And definitely the best point I have ever won as a manager.

"It was even better than the result we got at Bolton in the Worthington Cup earlier this season.

"To have ten men for the majority of the game and nine for the final half hour and still come back from a goal behind shows the character and spirit in the side.

"That kind of desire and will to win can only stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.

"Glynn's performance was fantastic and it disappoints me when people criticise the lad. He has been thrown in at the deep end in his first full season and of course he is going to make the odd mistake.

"But if people dig into their memories and recall how many saves he has made late in games to save us points they will far outweigh any errors he makes."

The criticism is all the more puzzling given the Shakers are enjoying a great season, despite being run on a shoestring, and currently sit in a promotion place with almost two thirds of the season complete.

And it begs the question what kind of reaction would the manager and team be getting if they were struggling at the opposite end of the table.

Last weekend Preece was rated one of the Nationwide League's ten most promising managers in The Observer newspaper while it's an open secret that he's held in high esteem by Stockport County fans and would be a popular replacement for Carlton Palmer should the Edgley Park boss lose his job.