BURY lost thousands of pounds on Saturday when the Gigg Lane clash with high-flying Stoke City was cancelled.

The match was called off at 9.15am after a pitch inspection revealed the ground was frozen.

The postponement was a bitter blow for chairman Terry Robinson, who was expecting bumper gate receipts and -- with Stoke pushing for a top two place -- possibly the most visiting supporters this season. The crowd could have been upwards of 5,000, which would have put some much-needed cash into the Shakers bank.

The match will now be rescheduled for later in the season while the club can only hope for a thaw before Tuesday night's home match with Brentford as the fixture list is piling up.

Despite the financial blow of losing the Stoke game, there continues to be positive news on the possibility of a potentially lucrative commercial link up with the Indian market -- a country interested in the club because the national captain Baichung Bhutia plays for the Shakers.

As the BEN revealed on Saturday, all sorts of money-making schemes are being explored, including the possibility of a pre-season tour, Bury matches being screened live and the sale of Bury shirts with Bhutia's name on the back.

To reply to the growing clamour for information about the India situation, Robinson has now named Bury's representatives there and issued a short statement.

It says: "Bury FC is represented in India by Sapphire Enterprises, who have been trying to market the club in a lot of ways.

"We have, today, asked for a progress report from Sapphire and once received, this report will be available to all on the club's official website."

Robinson has revealed that the main sticking point in negotiaitions is the fact that for the marketing ploy to succeed Bhutia needs to be in the team each week.

That hasn't be happening, though he has played the last two matches and seems to have found some form now he has been moved to a new role playing behind the front two strikers.

"The important thing is to get him playing on a regular basis. You can't start building anything up without that happening," said Robinson.

"The manager will probably continue picking him but it's quite strange when you're negotiating with these people and they say he has to play every week.

"It's quite difficult trying to tell the manager that!"