Bury took advantage of the January transfer window and brought in Joe Riley as the new right back. The 23-year-old is one of the new players at the club but he is also joined by goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Both these players are expected to feature in the mammoth clash against Wycombe Wanderers this weekend. While Riley has moved on a permanent transfer, Pope is set to stay at Bury until the end of the season. He is on loan from Charlton Athletic. These new arrivals have also meant that manager David Flitcroft has changed the formation of the team.
Bury are now playing with four at the back rather than just three defenders like in the first half of the season. Flitcroft is known as a manager who favours the 3-4-3 formation.
The manager has now revealed that one of the reasons for going with this formation is the lack of a real right back, which the club has had to contend with since the retirement of Phil Picken. In order to overcome the absence of this recognised defender, Flitcroft had to use the likes of Nathan Cameron in this position. The manager now says that the presence of Riley provides him with a great balance in terms of defence.
“After deciding to make the switch to four at the back I have just had to move things around. We haven’t had a recognised right-back since Phil Picken retired and I have had to put Nathan Cameron out there at times, so I think Joe’s signing gives the squad real balance now.He has shown he can play as a traditional full-back or a wing-back, with that drive to push forward when needed. It also means we can move Craig Jones further forward now to compete for a place on the wing,” said Flitcroft.