LOWE’S NEW DEAL SHOWS SHAKERS HAVE LEARNED

BURY’S appointment of Ryan Lowe, left, was a necessary statement of intent in the wake of relegation to League Two. The Shakers were let down by a group of players whose experience and pay-packets suggest they should be challenging in the top half. Having done for Lee Clark and Chris Lucketti, it was obvious that the manager wasn’t the problem. Unlike his predecessors, Lowe didn’t let them hide, accusing his squad of lacking “pride, passion and effort” as a dire season fizzled out. For any club owner, it is problematic to side with a manager. Changing the man in the dugout is relatively cheap; to overhaul a squad on multi-year contracts is far more expensive. Yet by backing Lowe with a new contract, Stewart Day has told the dressing room to shape up or ship out – even if it costs him a packet. After the mistakes of last summer, it is definitely a step in the right direction.