SHAKERS look set to appeal against the red card slapped on defender Danny Swailes last weekend.

The Bury centre half reacted angrily after conceding a penalty to Brighton's Bobby Zamora, pushing the prolific front man to the ground in protest to earn himself only his second sending off of his career.

His dismissal would cost manager Andy Preece one of his key defenders for at least one match of the survival battle as he served his suspension.

But Preece said he may appeal against any ban after receiving some encouraging news from Brighton.

"I haven't seen the incident but Brighton have told me Danny was more than unlucky to get sent off," he explained.

"I have to look at the pictures before I decide whether to appeal but they tell me it was really harsh, so there's a good chance we will."

Despite going a man down just before half-time, Bury never looked overwhelmed by their promotion-chasing opponents.

And Preece, who kept his charges in the game by coming off the bench to net his first goal of the season, said the team's morale had not been dented by the defeat which dropped them into the relegation zone.

"The mood in the camp has been good," he said.

"We were disappointed that we didn't play as well as we know we can in the first half at Brighton. We showed in the second half that there was more to come from us and I'm proud of the way they reacted to going a man down.

"Now we are in the bottom four but we still feel like our survival is in our own hands. We've still got to play Northampton and that's going to be a key game for us.

"All our home games will be crucial to whether we stay up or not. I'm positive that we will do it. We have shown a lot of bottle throughout this season and it would be nice to end it still in Division Two."

SHAKERS directors Fred Mason and John Smith have hit back at reports that they have put the entire squad up for sale.

Mason this week admitted that the club would almost certainly have to sell a player to dig them out of their financial crisis.

But in a statement issued by the club yesterday, the co-chairmen slammed suggestions that all their playing staff were up for grabs.

"This is simply not true," the statement read.

"We will treat any offer we receive on merit but our supporters can be rest assured that we will not be giving any players away on the cheap.

"It is basically a young team which we want to keep for next season."

The only known interest shown so far has been from Division Two rivals Wigan Athletic, who are casting their eye over midfielder Jason Jarrett.

BURY look set to appeal against the red card slapped on defender Danny Swailes last weekend.

The centre half reacted angrily after conceding a penalty to Brighton's Bobby Zamora, pushing the prolific front man to the ground in protest to earn himself only his second sending off of his career.

His dismissal would cost manager Andy Preece one of his key defenders for at least one match of the survival battle as he served his suspension.

But Preece said he may appeal against any ban after receiving some encouraging news from Brighton.

"I haven't seen the incident but Brighton have told me Danny was more than unlucky to get sent off," he explained.

"I have to look at the pictures before I decide whether to appeal but they tell me it was really harsh, so there's a good chance we will."

Meanwhile, Shakers directors Fred Mason and John Smith have hit back at reports that they have put the entire squad up for sale.

"This is simply not true," they said in a statement.

"We will treat any offer we receive on merit but our supporters can be rest assured that we will not be giving any players away on the cheap. It is basically a young team which we want to keep for next season."

The only known interest shown so far has been from Division Two rivals Wigan Athletic, who are casting their eye over midfielder Jason Jarrett.