SHAKERS will move quickly to bolster their squad after being forced to release Phil Charnock this week.

The former Crewe ace left Gigg Lane for the Irish Premiership on Wednesday after Bury revealed they could not afford to offer him a permanent deal.

Now manager Andy Preece is keen to replace the 28-year-old, at least on a short-term basis, particularly with fellow midfielder Terry Dunfield sidelined for the rest of the month with a shoulder injury.

"If the injury situation got much worse then we would have to look to bring someone in on a short-term deal because we wouldn't have enough cover," he said.

Charnock started all three games against Kidderminster, Lincoln and Southend after signing for Bury on a non-contract basis last month.

And his impressive performances in all three have left Preece once again rueing his desperate cashflow struggle.

"Long-term he would have been an ideal player to come in, but we're not in a position to offer him a long-term deal and that is the reason why he left," said Preece.

"He had an offer from Linfield and we couldn't match it."