Bury manager Ternent wants Swan
No sooner had Adrian Heath made a couple of signings, including a central defender, than Peter Swan, one of the defenders already at the club, was being linked with a move to newly promoted Bury who we had played league football against in the season just ended for the first time in fifty years.
Bury, managed by ex-Claret Stan Ternent, were on the lookout for a new central defender but Ternent said about it: “People have put two and two together and got five because of my past connections with Peter at Hull. There is no denying we would be interested in a player of Peter’s ability. Whether he is available or not, I don’t know, and I don’t know what sort of fee he would command.”
He added: “I saw the rumour in the paper and it was an inspired guess. Normally I don’t talk about transfer dealings until the player is signed, but I would be interested if his asking price fell within our budget.”
Heath was away on holiday with Ternent set to leave for his around the time of Heath’s return but he did confirm: “I will be making a call to Adrian Heath and asking him of his availability, but a lot of things come into the equation. If he is available and we can meet the asking price, we still have to see whether Peter wants to come and play at Bury, and whether we can match his personal demands. He is the sort of player we need in our squad as we prepare for life in the First Division. He is a narrow risk signing as I have worked with him before and I know what he will offer us. And we need players of his experience and quality at a higher level. We will just have to wait and see if he is available, but if I could sign him, I would.”
The previous week had confirmed Heath’s desire to bring in a new goalkeeper with Preston’s Bobby Mimms thought to be the main target. The plan was to bring in someone to challenge Marlon Beresford but reports suggested we might be looking for a first choice goalkeeper with Huddersfield boss Brian Horton targeting Beresford for his First Division side. The suggestion was that he could offer up to £500,000, a figure Heath would be unlikely to accept.
Colin Harvey dismissed the Mimms link but didn’t deny that Bradford City goalkeeper Aidan Davison could be player we were looking at bringing in. He’d only been at Valley Parade since March, having moved from Bolton where he’d played in the top flight, and had played just ten games for them. He was in dispute with manager Chris Kamara and wasn’t happy with the new terms he’d been offered. Davison had been a key player in keeping Bradford City in the First Division with some outstanding displays. Whether his next club would be Burnley or not, it looked certain that he would move again during the summer.
Finally, the new face of Turf Moor with the North and East Stands now over a year old was paying dividends when the Pontins League chose the North Stand as the venue for their AGM. League president Mr Ernest Barron was hugely impressed with what Burnley had to offer.
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