Bury 1 Exeter City 0 by Chris Hall: OUT of contract but certainly not out of favour.

That was the verdict of Bury boss Andy Preece after Steve Redmond and Liam George revelled in the pressure of playing for their future and inspired a gutsy and worthy victory over the Grecians to boost their hopes of an extended stay at Gigg Lane.

If this is how his charges perform when their contracts are on the line then the Bury boss should put them all on week-to-week deals today.

Veteran defender Redmond was a colossus in the midst of a back four which confidently contained a threatening Exeter front line, winning every tackle and finding his passing boots when those around him were losing theirs.

While George showed great vision and hunger to create a wealth of openings for his front men, before picking an immaculate moment to grab his first goal for the club and wrap up a vital three points to lift Shakers to fifth in the table.

If Preece had thrown down the gauntlet last week by claiming players either thrive or buckle under such pressure, then Redmond and George have hurled it back on to the floor of the manager's office as talks with club chairmen got underway.

"I will speak to the chairmen about their contracts because I would love to keep them both at least until the end of the season," he said.

"With Liam scoring and Redders getting a clean sheet, I can go into talks and honestly say they are contributing greatly to the side. They are putting pressure on other players to improve their game and I thought both of them did pretty well."

Shakers dominated a simply lifeless Exeter outfit from start to finish with their poor distribution from the back, Redmond excluded, and some wasteful finishing the only criticisms of a side now looking fully adjusted to life in Division Three and ready to impose themselves on the promotion race.

George showed his alertness after just nine minutes, pouncing on a sloppy back pass to see his snap shot parried at point blank range. He also pushed a close-range header over the bar shortly before the break.

Striker Jon Newby showed strong signs of ending his league goal drought, which now stretches back three months, but lack of confidence twice forced him to pass the ball inside when facing gilt-edged scoring chances.

With the game entering its final stages, not even some clever touches from Preece and the industry of Chris Billy and Lenny Johnrose looked like penetrating City's all-out defensive gameplan.

Then came the brave move by assistant manager Graham Barrow to replace Redmond with exciting striker David Nugent. And the teenage sensation once again made a huge impact, working his way past his marker and into the box before pulling the ball back for George to stab home from eight yards out.

Not even celebrity chairman Uri Geller's mind tricks could bend the visitors back into shape after that.

Stat Attack: Garner 8, Redmond 9, Swailes 7, Nelson 7, Barrass 7, Stuart 7,

Billy 7, Johnrose 7, George 9, Newby 8, Preece 8. Subs: Forrest (for George

82) 6, Nugent (for Redmond 72) 7. Not used: Woodthorpe, Lawson,

O'Shaughnessy.

Attendance: 2,739

Referee: M Clattenburg