STEWART Day says Bury will not break the bank in a bid to follow in the footsteps of Bournemouth – who bounced back from Football League survival to Premier League promotion in just seven years.
The Shakers chairman stated when he rescued the club from a winding-up order in 2013 that he wanted to take it into the Championship within five years.
Promotion from League Two has put them on track.
But while Day believes the club has the scope to achieve his lofty ambition of second-tier football, he has refused to chase an impossible dream and put Bury’s future at risk.
“I’m not a Russian billionaire. Certainly not,” said the 33-year-old property developer, referring to Maxim Demin, who has bankrolled Bournemouth’s meteoric rise to the top.
“Bournemouth have done extremely well. I know some of the wages they have got and we won’t be paying those wages.
“Something that we are trying to do is create a sustainable business off the pitch as well as on the pitch.
“The football club hasn’t had that before and there is a lot of work that needs putting into it to make it right.”
Day has helped to revamp the club since his arrival, providing the funds for manager David Flitcroft to turn Bury from League Two relegation candidates when he arrived last season to seal automatic promotion this year.
But that rise has come at a cost.
Bury’s most recent accounts show the club made a £1.6million loss last year, while a credit facility made available by Day to cover the club's running costs now totals £3.2m.
The decision this week to transfer list Nicky Adams may be a sign that Bury will need to sell this summer to provide the funds needed to build a squad capable of competing in League One.
But Day has not ruled out pumping more money into the club to help the side consolidate their place in the third tier next season.
“That’s my investment. That’s my money that I am putting into this football club,” he said of the credit facility.
“I always review it in terms of where I want to be.
"I sit down with my chief executive Glenn (Thomas) and talk about what money I am going to put in and how I can try to make it grow.”
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