BURY face Third Division promotion rivals Oxford United on Saturday in the first of three revenge missions in the space of a week.

The clash against the third placed U's is followed hard on the heels by long trips to two more sides with promotion and play-off aspirations.

They travel to Cambridge United on Tuesday evening then head for the English Riviera and Torquay United next Saturday.

All three have already taken maximum points from the Shakers although they could consider themselves unlucky to have been defeated at Oxford on the first day of the season.

Ian Atkins' side have made steady progress throughout the campaign and their 3-1 victory at Kidderminster Harriers on Tuesday night catapulted them back into the much coveted third promotion place after a bit of a rocky spell.

Bury held that position until a couple of weeks ago and they are desperate to get back there.

One man Shakers fans are hoping can help them back onto the promotion track is Colin Cramb who makes his home debut tomorrow.

But boss Andy Preece has urged supporters to give Cramb time to settle back into front line.

Favourite

The much-travelled striker, a huge crowd favourite during his short spell with Shakers two years ago, made his second debut for the club at Kidderminster last week but, despite some promising touches, looked some way short of match fitness following a lengthy spell in the football wilderness.

But Preece insists his latest piece of wheeling and dealing will come to fruition. "He's a bit rusty and he's obviously got a lot more to give but he got through the 90 minutes okay last week and I'm sure he's only going to get stronger from that," he said.

"It would be wrong of me to expect him to produce the goods straight away after playing so little football over the past two years.

"But I'm sure he will prove a major asset for us, especially if he gets up to the level he was the last time he was here.

"Even last week, he created three or four opportunities for us and we scored from his free-kick."