THREE Shakers players have this week put pen to paper on extended contracts.

Midfielder Martyn Forrest and defenders Danny Swailes and Lee Unsworth have signed two-and-a-half year deals that will keep them at Gigg Lane until the end of the 2003/2004 campaign.

The triple swoop is a major boost for Bury boss Andy Preece amid the uncertainty of the long overdue takeover of the club.

And it sends out an encouraging message to supporters who must be wondering just when the dragged out ownership saga will come to an end.

"It's great news for the fans, me and everyone connected to the club," said Preece.

"It's superb that the three of them want to play for Bury Football Club, especially with the position the club finds itself in.

"It would have been easy for them to say they'd wait and see what's going to happen but they are 100 per cent committed to the cause.

"Martyn and Danny have been at Gigg Lane since they were youngsters and are Bury FC through and through, while Lee has done really well for us since he signed.

"He's still only 28 and has a lot of football left in him and it's nice for me as a manager to know that lads want to play for me."

Preece expects four or five other first teamers to sign extended deals in the coming weeks as he looks to build for next season.

"It was decided we'd make these signings before Terry Robinson resigned," he explained.

"I've continued with the negotiations because it's for the good of the club that we secure the services of these players.

"My job is took look after the team affairs for whoever takes over."

The manager hopes the signings will allay fans fears that there is about to be a mass exodus of players from Gigg Lane.

He has been concerned that too many stories in the media have focused on big name players being sold when the opposite is the truth.

"Obviously, just like any small club, any of our players are for sale if an offer came up that we couldn't refuse," he said.

"But we are committed to keeping this team together as much as we can and move forward.

"We've put a lot of hard work into the players and there is the potential to do very well next year as long as we finish the job this season."

Things are looking up on the injury front with Baichung Bhutia back at the club after a lengthy convalescence back in India.

He is on course to be back playing reserve team football in around four weeks while Matt Barrass is on a similar course and Preece is hopeful of having all his squad available by the end of March.

"That could be vital to us as we will need as many players as possible for the crucial end of season games," he said.

Preece himself and full back Jamie Stuart are still suspended for the trip to Chesterfield tomorrow with defender Steve Redmond back in contention after serving his three match ban inside a week.

"It'll be a tough game at Chesterfield, it always is and they've been doing well in recent weeks," said Preece.

"It's another six-pointer as they are only four points above us in the table and we need to keep as many teams in the dogfight as possible.

"If we can get a win tomorrow it will put a bit of breathing space between us and the bottom four clubs and if we play like we did against Blackpool and Reading there's no reason why we can't get a good result."