Ben Chenery is confident his Bury Town side are over their “blip” in form and is expecting more to come from the play-off chasing Blues in the new year.

Bury are ninth in Ryman North, ahead of today’s trip to Soham Town Rangers (1pm kick-off), but just two points off the play-offs.

They have also been boosted by the arrival of midfielder Leon Ottley-Gooch from Leiston, and Chenery is optimistic of better times ahead at Ram Meadow.

“I think we have recovered from that blip – that period of time when we weren’t performing very well – and we have taken four points from six,” said Chenery.

“It’s really tight at the top of the table and I was always mindful that we needed to stay in and around the top five, but as it has turned out, we are ninth, and the top-10 is very close.

“My message to the players was to be in the mix at Christmas and we now have three winnable games, so hopefully we can head into the new year in a strong position.

“We tend to struggle when the pitches get heavier, but we are getting better at putting the ball in the right areas at the right times.”

New signing Ottley-Gooch could be handed an immediate start today in the Blues’ engine room, and Chenery is excited to have brought a new face into the club.

“Firstly, he brings a freshness to the group, it’s always nice as a player to have a new voice in the dressing room,” Chenery explained.

“He will add energy in the middle of the park – we have missed Ollie Canfer there, and Jon Kennedy has been injured, so Noel Aitkens has had to do a lot of running – Leon is all-action.”

One player Chenery won’t be able to call upon today is centre-back Phil Weavers, who recently joined Stowmarket Town.

“Phil had a chat with me about six weeks ago and said he had other commitments so we decided to put his football on hold,” said Chenery.

“Since then, Joe White has come in and has done an excellent job and that is the nature of the beast.

“Football is all about competition for places and I used to thrive on that.

“But it is up to the players and Phil wants to play football.

“We wish him well, he was a big part of the football club and we will miss each other.”