BURY were turning their attentions to the transfer market this week following the sale of Andy Gray to Millwall.

The 33-year-old midfielder parted company with the Shakers on Wednesday for "personal reasons", despite previously hinting he would sign up until 1999.

Disappointed manager Stan Ternent was due to meet chairman Terry Robinson last night to see how much money, if any, is available to spend on a replacement.

Gray, a former England international, moved to Gigg Lane from Falkirk last summer and brought a wealth of experience with him.

His departure, for a "minimal fee", will come as a massive body blow to Ternent's bid to climb out of the Division One relegation zone.

The Shakers' boss said: "It is a priority to bring new faces in - but no more of a priority than to start converting our chances on the pitch.

"Everyone says we need a striker, but they are the hardest ones to come buy. I can only say that we are on the look-out, as we always are."

Robinson explained why he had reluctantly agreed to sell Gray.

"We had Andy in on Friday with a view to extending his contract to the end of next season.

"Initially he intimated that he would be signing but on Tuesday he explained that due to personal reasons he wanted a move back down south.

"He would have been out of contract at the end of this season so we reluctantly let him go," he explained. It wasn't all bad news for Bury this week, however.

Fans' prayers for a new marksman may be answered soon as Rob Matthews continues his comeback from injury.

The 27-year-old, who has been out of action for 10 months with knee ligament damage, scored a superb goal for Bury's reserves on Wednesday night in their 2-2 draw with Doncaster.

In only his third game since returning to action, he played for 75 minutes, blasting home a volley from outside the box.

Ternent said: "He is feeling good and we are all delighted to see him on the way back.

"The most important thing is that he makes a full recovery. I will not be pushing him. He is a sensible lad and when he is ready to make a return to the first team he will tell me.

"You cannot rush players back after such a long lay-off. We could be looking at another month yet."

There has been no let-up in training at Gigg Lane this week, despite the Shakers having a rare weekend off due to FA Cup fixtures.

Ternent has been putting his players through their paces all week and will have them in tomorrow too as preparation gets into full swing for Tuesday's home game with promotion-chasing Wolves.

"I might give them Sunday off, but that is all," he said.

"We have been working on our general team play. We need to start converting some chances and winning some games.

"This is going to be another tough match for us, but it is nice to have the likes of Wolves coming to play at Gigg Lane. Hopefully, there will be a good atmosphere on the night."

He added: "It is still very tight down at the bottom. There are 57 points left to play for - and that is enough for promotion!"

Bury will be without Mark Patterson and Gordon Armstrong who are serving two-match suspensions.

TICKETS for Bury's Nationwide First Division clash with Wolves on Tuesday go on sale tomorrow at Gigg Lane.

The ticket office will be open between 10am and noon. Normal league prices apply. Tuesday's match kicks off at 7.45pm.

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