TEN more points and the Shakers won't have to worry about relegation.

So says Andy Preece who reckons the bottom of Division Two is as tight as it could be and he wants to make sure Bury - currently on 39 points - don't get sucked into a dogfight.

Three wins and a draw from the last four matches seemed to have dispelled any lingering worries about relegation and some supporters have even been heard to mention the play-offs.

However, as far as Preece is concerned, the main aim is to ensure relegation will not happen, beginning tomorrow at Port Vale.

"It's very close at the bottom and the way results are going it will get even tighter," said the manager.

Confidence

"Originally I thought that 43 points would be enough but now I think we should be aiming for 48, 49. The main priority is to keep picking up points and make sure we are in no danger."

The 1-1 draw at Colchester on Tuesday was a perfect example of how the Shakers have improved in recent weeks and confidence at Gigg Lane has never been higher.

"We're all buzzing at the moment," agreed Preece. "We are going out expecting to win games. When we went a goal down at Colchester we expected to equalise and that's the difference. A couple of months ago we might have crumbled when we went a goal down."

Though Chris Armstrong picked up a knock on his ankle at Colchester he felt fine in training yesterday, leaving Preece with almost a fully fit squad to choose from for tomorrow's clash.

The main dilemma will be up front. Jon Newby is a certainty to start but on-loan Colin Cramb faces a battle to start his third successive match.

He faces stiff competition from Paul Barnes, Adrian Littlejohn and Baichung Bhutia - who all scored in the reserves brilliant 3-2 midweek victory over a strong Tranmere side to reach the quarter final of the Avon Insurance Cup - and from Preece himself, who has made two excellent appearances from the substitutes bench in the last two games.

The manager won't give anything away about his starting line-up though, he warns, whichever side he picks for tomorrow's Vale Park encounter will have to be on top form.

"We've had Port Vale watched several times and they are a better side than their league position suggests," claimed Preece.

"They are on a good run, picking up points and playing good football. It will be a very difficult game though at the moment, for us, these matches can't come fast enough."