Bury Town boss, Ben Chenery, is hoping that the enforced two-week break will work in his side’s favour at home to Norwich United tomorrow afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

The play-off chasing Blues have not played for a fortnight, but remain in the thick of the promotion race, just one point adrift of the top five.

They suffered defeats in their last two matches, away at Cheshunt (2-0) and at AFC Hornchurch (3-2), but before that enjoyed a run of four wins and a draw in the five games in-and-around the festive period.

“It’s not ideal to have an enforced break, midway through the season, but it’s given a chance for two or three of the injured players to improve,” explained Chenery.

“The break has also given us a chance to assess where we are at, and where we want to go for the rest of the season.

“We are looking to move forward, and of course our target is still a top five finish.

“We are at (in eighth place) where I thought we would be, at this stage of the season, which is a big positive, being right up there with other teams.

“Now we need to step it up, and I think it’s going to be an interesting end to the season.

“The teams that deliver consistent performances, and get on a run of results, will be the ones that succeed, and I was very happy with getting nine points out of nine over the festive period.

“Our last two matches were both tough away games, although we were very disappointed to lose a 2-0 lead in the last 20 minutes at Hornchurch.

“My main concern is that we might take time to get going, after our lay-off, and we can’t afford that. Two weeks might not sound a long time, but it is in terms of the middle of the season,” added Chenery.

Bury should welcome back Ryan Jolland, while the injured trio of Noel Aitkens (hamstring), Leon Ottley-Gooch (knee) and Ollie Hughes (bruised ribs) are all close to returns.

“I’m hoping that two of those three will make it for this weekend,” insisted Chenery,