BURY welcome the players back for the start of training on Wednesday with a number of dates in their pre-season calander still to fill.

Their campaign kicks off at Radcliffe Borough on Saturday, July 14, before matches at home to Burnley and Wigan and trips to Morcambe, Bradford and Ramsbottom United.

Richie Barker, however, is still searching for one or two decent fixtures after being knocked back by a host of Premier League and Championship teams.

“It’s been difficult and gets harder every year because Premiership clubs are dictated to now by major finances they can achieve by going away to the Far East or America,” explained Barker.

“I thought I’d got in quite early with a few Premiership clubs about March/April time this year and they’d already got it done. It was already organised.

“And they don’t just go away for four or five days anymore, they go away for two weeks so it is becoming extremely difficult. Even Championship clubs are going away for two weeks.”

Despite problems with the pre-season calander, the Shakers boss has challenged his players to put in maximum effort to help them hit the ground running in what will be a difficult start to their League One campaign.

“We need to become fitter, faster and stronger as a group of players to enable us to move to the next level. It’s certainly going to be difficult, but they are League One players and they need to train at a League One standard.”

Barker is still mulling over the preparations, and has not yet decided whether to subject his squad to army-led sessions or take his players away for a training camp.

Whatever they end up doing, he has promised that there will be no gain without pain.

“A month of pre-season is as hard as it can get,” said the former Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton striker.

“I was never particularly great at it but you enjoyed the fact that it was the fittest you were ever going to be in your life. You enjoyed the work, you enjoyed what you got out of it and you enjoyed the way you felt after it but for that small amount of time it wasn’t particularly enjoyable.

“I’ve had a chat with one or two of the players though and they seem to be working pretty hard so I’m looking forward to see how they come back.”