Key appointments have been made in the running of Bury FC after a trio of resignations at the top of the club last week.

The Shakers confirmed just before midnight on Friday, November 8 that CEO and club secretary Neil Sears had resigned.

It followed the resignations of Bury FC’s football chair and Football Supporter’s Society of Bury (FSSB) board member, Marcel De Matas, and FSSB chair, Phil Young, which were announced that afternoon.

Bury said it faced a “testing week”, which included long-standing volunteer John Raftery being suddenly dismissed on Wednesday, November 6, leading to a public backlash from supporters on social media.

The club acknowledged that the incident was a mistake and a “function of poor communication and decision-making within the club” and promised to “do more” to ensure it does not happen again.

Following a meeting this week, it has been decided that vice-chair Gareth Castick will step up to become the interim chairman of the club. 

He will take on the role with support from all the other football board members, Adam Ingram, Tania Jackson, Casey Lynchey, Jon Newby and Jon Wiggans, alongside interim secretary Ian Coyle.

And the FSSB has appointed John Woodhead as its interim chair.

He will be helping the football board in "this transitional phase" and "will be present on any meetings held in this period".

A football board spokesperson said: "This group will continue to support the squads and first team management, alongside the coordination of matchday activities at Gigg Lane.

"We continue to receive great support from our volunteer base in these activities, which started with the delivery of the game on Tuesday night.

"This support continues to be a source of great strength at the base of the club, and does not go unnoticed."

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The FSSB said it has been in talks with the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) about the upcoming election and was reportedly told the FSA advised that the process "should be cancelled and re-commence as soon as possible".

The process will begin on January 6, when nominations will open, and will culminate in an extraordinary general meeting on March 3 at which point the result will be announced. 

Meanwhile, Mike Howarth has been appointed to the board of The Bury Football Club Company Limited, the vehicle which owns the club, as one of the four FSSB members that sit on that board, with the others being Darren Bernstein, Ian Pearson and Mr Woodhead.

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Commenting on the recent changes, Bury FC Benefactors Limited, which co-owns The Bury Football Club Company Limited with Bury Football Club Supporters' Society, has released a statement.

It said: "We have been sidelined from any active involvement or engagement with Bury FC over the past 12 months.

"We have kept our counsel and monitored as events unfold, some positive and some negative.

"As a group, we felt that direct involvement on our part could have been misinterpreted and weaponised.

"Consequently, we pursued a policy of interested non-participation.

"As we look ahead to the FSSB elections, we hope that the new board members will actively promote unity and inclusivity.

"We will always remain keen to work with those willing to engage."