BURY FC have hit back at claims that the club didn't try hard enough to get Saturday's match against Oxford United played.

The Third Division promotion clash was postponed on Saturday lunchtime due to ice on the Gigg Lane pitch but the decision sparked anger among both sets of fans coming so late in the day.

Bury supporters used the Shakers' official internet site to let the club know just how they felt while fans of both teams rang the ground to express their frustration.

Their disappointment was further fuelled by the fact that, locally, games at Wigan, Stockport, Burnley and Preston all went ahead as arranged.

But the Shakers are keen to point out that the decision not to play was that of Barnsley referee Alan Kaye, and his alone, as the club and both managers were keen for the game to go ahead.

"It was the only game in Lancashire that didn't go ahead and there was no need for it to be," said an angry joint chairman John Smith.

"It was a joke! The referee played it by the book and said that League rules say that if the pitch isn't fit at 12 noon it won't get any better.

"He didn't want to know. Our groundsman told him that the pitch would have been playable at 3pm and it was!

"Oxford were already up here and their fans were on the road. There's no way they will come up for a Tuesday night match now which means a loss of revenue for us."

Shakers press officer Gordon Sorfleet added: "It was absolutely ludicrous to think that we didn't want this game played.

Decision

"We couldn't have done any more to get it staged and the only person who can make that decision is the referee.

"We now have to pay Oxford travelling expenses for the re-arranged game so the decision has cost us.

"Some of the abusive phone calls club receptionist Sharon Unsworth received on the day were a disgrace and people should know better."

Heavy night frosts during the week left large areas of the Gigg Lane pitch frozen, even though it had been covered.

Thursday evening's Manchester Senior Cup clash against Manchester United reserves was postponed because of the state of the surface and although there was something of a thaw on Friday there were still large frozen areas particularly in front of the South Stand which keeps one side of the pitch in shadow.

Referee Kaye inspected at 11am on Saturday morning and was happy with 90 per cent of the surface with just one or two problem areas causing concern.

With that in mind he left it another hour to make a final decision but although there had been some improvement, in the eyes of the official the two areas were still a danger to the players and he called for a postponement.

"Groundsman Michael Curtis and his staff were at the ground from first thing Saturday morning clearing the covers off and even joint-chairman Fred Mason joined in to help," added Sorfleet.

"So to say we didn't do enough is ridiculous.

"As a club the last thing we need is a postponement because the loss of revenue hits us hard.

"It's frustating but the ground was fit at 3pm but by that time it was too late."