SAM Allardyce's Wanderers have shown the kinder side of football by agreeing to play Bury in a fund-raising match.

The contest takes place a week today, when neither side is in league action because of World Cup qualifying games.

And Wanderers, dispelling the theory that the Premiership giants don't care about the smaller clubs, have agreed to donate every penny of the gate receipts to the Gigg Lane club.

Bury are in serious financial trouble and last week almost £60,000 was raised when Manchester United played a similar friendly at Gigg Lane in front of a sell-out crowd.

Barring Per Frandsen and Ricardo Gardner - playing for Denmark and Jamaica respectively - Allardyce will take a full strength team to Bury to keep his players sharp ahead of the Leeds clash .

Shakers chairman Terry Robinson is delighted to secure a fixture against their high-flying local rivals and is hoping to see the ground packed.

"We contacted a number of clubs with a view to playing a match and I'm delighted that Bolton Wanderers accepted," Robinson told the BEN.

"Sam has said he is going to bring a full strength team and with Bolton doing so well in the Premiership it will be interesting for both sets of fans to see how the match goes.

Much-needed

"It is kicking off at 3pm which will allow both sets of fans to enjoy the afternoon and get home in time to watch England's game against Germany.

"We have a very close relationship with a lot of local clubs and with Bolton in particular. I'm happy that they agreed to our request, it helps us raise much-needed money and we are looking forward to what should be a confrontational friendly next week."

Allardyce will be pleased to have a game lined up. As well as filling an empty fortnight, it also allows him to try out one or two different options and may give match practice to the likes of Colin Hendry and Gareth Farrelly, if they have recovered from injury.

Bury were supposed to be playing Wrexham on Friday but the game was cancelled because the Welsh side had several international call-ups.

And while the Shakers will relish the opportunity to pit their wits against their more illustrious rivals, the main object is to raise money.

Since former majority shareholder Hugh Eaves stopped pumping money in two years ago, Robinson has faced an uphill battle to stop the Division Two club going bankrupt.

A take-over by a consortium was expected to be rubber-stamped by the High Courts in London in August. But the deal was delayed and the buy out has temporarily stalled.

The friendly against Wanderers will at least help pay the bills for another month.

Bury are hoping for a capacity crowd and have pegged back prices for the match. It will cost £10 for adults, £5 senior citizens and just £1 for children. Kick off next Saturday is 3pm.