FROM the disappointment of Shakers' home draw with Port Vale emerged a bright new striking hope at Gigg Lane.

Bury chairmen Fred Mason and John Smith are under pressure to offload players in a bid to escape their financial crisis and, with little or no funds for replacements, the club must now rely more than ever on a golden nugget from their academy set-up.

Cue talented young forward David Nugent, who came off the bench for his first team debut against the Valiants at the tender age of just 16 years 10 months and 21 days - just 192 days from breaking Brian Williams' 30-year club record.

Nugent, an exciting first year trainee from Liverpool, has been going down a storm in the youth leagues and manager Andy Preece says he will get the chance to realise his potential during Shakers' survival battle.

"He has been doing well in the reserves and Gareth Seddon has been struggling with an injury," he said.

"Bhaichung Bhutia isn't ready yet because he's been out for a long time, so I thought Saturday's game was an excellent opportunity to give David a run out.

"He could have had a goal on his debut, too, but for what looked like a handball. He got a good strike on the ball but the defender's arm took the pace off it.

"He's only 16 but I feel he's got the presence he needs to make an impact."

As Nugent begins to ply his first team trade, Jason Jarrett is the player most likely to head through the exit door with Wigan interested in making a signing before Thursday's transfer deadline.

But no formal bids have been made as yet and chairman Dave Whelan is believed to be reluctant to spend any more cash this season as his side finish well below the play-off places.

"I don't know what will happen," said Preece.

"We will have to wait and see. I thought he played all right on Saturday. He lost his way a bit in the last 20 minutes but until then he had caused a lot of problems coming forward and didn't get caught on the ball too much.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure whether Wigan are putting a bid in. It's an interesting one and we will have to see how that goes this week. There are lots of things to sort out before a transfer could be made.

"The player must agree personal terms and the fee must be right. We are fighting for our lives and if we are going to lose a player, we need to raise enough money from that so we can bring someone else in. Although that might be out of my hands."