TORRENTIAL rain dealt Bury a double blow on Saturday.

The waterlogged pitch which forced the postponement of Bury's clash with Brentford not only hit the Shakers in the pocket but it means Steve Redmond's one match ban will be now be carried over into tomorrow's vital cup replay at Northwich.

The Brentford match was cancelled at 2pm, just an hour before the game was due to kick off, leaving hundreds of visiting fans who had made the long journey to Gigg Lane in miserable mood.

It also left Bury boss Andy Preece disgruntled too.

He wanted his team to pick up three points and get back to winning ways before the Northwich encounter.

Preece said: "I was out on the pitch at 1.15pm and it was fine.

But then the rain came down and left the pitch soaked, especially on the far side where there were lots of puddles.

"It's disappointing because we needed the game and we needed three points.

"It means Steve Redmond and Lutel James will now miss tomorrow's game because their suspensions have had to be carried over."

However, any more rain could put the Northwich tie in danger of being cancelled as their Drill Field pitch is not good at holding water at the best of times.

The weather is also making it difficult for Preece's squad to train.

"We went out on Lower Gigg the other day and had to give up after 10 minutes because it was so wet," he revealed.

"We've trained at the JJB five-a-side complex a bit but it's a bit small and there are certain things we need to work on."

The postponement also does nothing to help the Shakers dire financial position.

Gate receipts from the match would have gone towards paying the players wages but now chairman Terry Robinson will have to find income from somewhere else.

He is hoping that the club is bought sooner rather than later.

It is still a two-horse race between former Chesterfield chairman Norton Lea and Norwegian billionaire Atle Brynestad.

Despite reports that Brynestad has decided not to buy Bury, Mr Robinson insists the deal isn't dead. By Steve Canavan