Bury St Edmunds begin a new era under new head coach, Nick Wakley, with a home match against fellow mid-table side Clifton in a National League Two South clash at The Haberden this afternoon (3pm).

Welshman Wakley was officially unveiled in his new post on Tuesday, having watched his new charges share an exciting 20-20 draw at Redruth in Cornwall last Saturday.

Former Director of Rugby, Jon Curry, departed the club at the start of the month, due to a short-fall in funding, but Wakley has now got a chance to stamp his authority on the team – he is initially contracted until the end of this season.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but we have to get on a roll and get a winning mentality,” insisted Wakley.

“But first we have to put the structures in place to allow us to win.

“I’m contracted until the end of the season, and my relationship with (Performance Director) Terry (Sands) is obviously very open and honest.

“I’m going to attack until April, and in the new year we will probably discuss how it’s going.

“The great thing of having Terry on side is that we can be very reflective, very often. We are planning until the end of the season, and we’ll see how it goes. I want to progress and I want to do a good job here, and if that’s the case then hopefully they (Bury) will want me for another year.

“Results will obviously play a part in that. It’s a fickle game and results dictate things.

“It is difficult coming in at mid-season and trying to change a few things that we need to focus on. It’s not like coming in at the start of the season, but I do have experience of bringing teams together very quickly, with my background in the Sevens and the the Samurai,” added Wakley.

Bury are currently 11th in the table, with four wins, although they have tasted victory just once in their last seven outings, a 35-31 success at Old Redcliffians.

They are one place and three points ahead of today’s visitors Clifton, who have lost their last four on the bounce.

BURY: Robinson, Argerich, Cooper, Graham, Scholes, Uru, T Brown, Y Brown. Hasenlechner, Perez, Sharp, Leng, O’Reilly, Kohler, Catuogno.

Replacements: Coombes, Coutts, Hill, Affleck, Wiltshire, Ritchie.