THE Shakers will put money problems firmly behind them to concentrate on matters on the pitch.

But they won't find things easy against a Stoke City side gunning for a top two spot.

To add to problems Paul Reid is suspended and Sam Collins and manager Andy Preece haven't trained all week because of injury.

However, on the bright side, Preece has been handed a small amount of money by the chairman to allow him to bring in a quality loan striker. That player could even arrive today in time for the's crunch game.

"The person we are looking at is from a higher division club but we are waiting to get a phonecall to see if he will come here," confirmed the Bury boss, who is aware that he needs a few wins to climb away from the ever-nearer relegation zone.

"I feel as though I'll be boring people saying it because they've heard it all before but the truth is that we are playing as well as we did at the start of the season. All we have to do is cut out individual mistakes and start scoring goals.

"The Stoke match should be a good one. They are right up there going for promotion so they should bring a few fans and fill that end which will make it good.

"But we played them at their place a few weeks ago and we should have got something out of the game, even when we went down to 10 men (Bury lost 2-1 after Jason Jarrett was sent off for a debatable foul).

"That will be in the lads' minds and we are confident of getting the right result. We just have to keep believing in ourselves."

Reid - who has been in good form lately in the centre of midfield - is definitely ruled out through suspension though again, just like the recent Darren Bullock fiasco, it wasn't a straightforward ban.

"The FA didn't send us any notification that he was banned. The first we knew was when we got the referee's report on Wednesday," explained Preece.

"It's a blow because he has been playing well and gives us nice balance as well as helping out the younger lads like Chris Armstrong with his experience."

The manager hasn't decided who will fill the void yet though favourites for the job are Jason Jarrett or Martyn Forrest. Dean Barrick, still at Gigg despite an on-off move to Doncaster, could also play a part.

Meanwhile, Preece himself hasn't trained this week due to a back injury and Sam Collins has been rested since Tuesday after he got a kick on the shin during training. Both players, however, are expected to be fit for tomorrow's game.

Stoke are on fire at the moment and on Wednesday night beat Brentford 1-0 to consolidate their fifth-placed position. Icelandic manager Gudjon Thordarson is now aiming for a top two finish to make it to the first division without having to suffer the agony of the play offs.

Top scorer Peter Thorn is expected to return against Bury after being left out on Wednesday.

The weather forecast isn't good for Saturday's game. Ring Gigg Lane on 0161 764 4881 before leaving home to check the match is still on.