BURY TOWN, sitting proudly on top of the Isthmian League North table, will bid to protect that lofty position when they entertain fellow high-fliers Coggeshall Town at Ram Meadow tomorrow afternoon.

The visit of the Seed Growers, who missed the chance to go top themselves after behind held to a 1-1 home draw by Soham Town Rangers last weekend - they are currently in third spot, one point adrift of the Blues - represents the first of a number of tricky fixtures for Ben Chenery's men.

Although the top-two home clash with Maldon & Tiptree has been put back to Tuesday, January 7, due to the Jammers' continued involvement in the FA Trophy, Bury have testing away trips to come at Histon (next Saturday) and Hulbridge Sports (on Tuesday, December 17), sandwiching a home game against fifth-placed Grays Athletic.

"It's great to still be top of the table, as we approach December," insisted boss Chenery.

"Coggeshall could have gone top with a win last Saturday, but now we have a couple of games in hand over them, which is nice.

"We didn't have a game last weekend, so I'm hoping that we are not too rusty. It's always best to keep playing matches, when you have built up a good momentum, like we have managed.

"But we are facing up to a sticky period, in terms of fixtures and the number of injuries we have picked up.

"That often seems to be the case with us, at this time of the year. We have had injuries at this time during the past two seasons, and we are under no illusions as to how tough the next few games will be, starting with Coggeshall.

"However, we have created a good atmosphere at the football club, and I think we are an entertaining team to watch, playing a good, attacking brand of football.

"Crowds have been good, and we are hoping for another big crowd this weekend. It's a good game to look forward to.

"The players have been a credit to themselves this season, and they still have a very proud record of having only lost one home game so far (to Tilbury), which is excellent after so many games," added Chenery.

The main injury blow surrounds inspirational midfielder, Ryan Horne, who is set to be sidelined for between 10 months and a year after rupturing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).

"Ryan is the model pro, so this is very sad news. He makes us tick on the pitch, so we will miss him, massively," admitted Chenery.

Joe White will be out for a further two months with a dislocated knee, and fellow defenders Ollie Fenn (out until January) and Taylor Hastings (facing an early operation) remain sidelined. Jake Chambers-Shaw is out suspended.