Manager:  Alan Knill
Nationality:  Wales
Date of Birth:  08 Oct 1964

Alan Knill was appointed as Bury's 35th manager on Monday 04 February 2008 with the former Welsh international leaving Saltergate where he had been assistant manager to Lee Richardson at Chesterfield.

Knill showed no intimidation from the task that lay ahead with Bury then on the brink of the relegation zone.Knill found himself in a similar position when taking on his first full commission as manager with Rotherham United in 2005 and returned to familiar surroundings at Gigg Lane where he first arrived as a player in 1989.

Bury paid a then record transfer fee of £95,000 to Swansea to secure his registration.Alan went onto make 144 league appearances for the Shakers before signing for Scunthorpe United after a loan spell at Cardiff City.

Rotherham United then signed him on a free transfer in July 1997 and he took his career tally to 31 goals in 560 league games.Having finished playing at the end of the 1998/99 season, Alan became Rotherham's Youth Team coach and following the sacking of Ronnie Moore stepped into the breach to make a valiant effort to keep Rotherham in the Championship and he was eventually endorsed as manager in December 2005.

Knill started his career with Southampton as an apprentice but was released by manager Lawrie McMenemy who didn't think him good enough to make the grade.He made his football league debut in Halifax Town's 2-0 defeat by visiting Blackpool on 25 August 1984 missing only two if the 'Shaymens' 46 league games in that inaugural season in which he registered his first goal, ironically in the return game with Blackpool, which finished 1-1 at Bloomfield Road.

It was the start of a successful adventure for the six foot three centre back who was the subject of a £15,000 transfer to Swansea in August 1987.

His first season saw Bury move from 3rd from bottom in league two to a mid-table finish come the end of the season.Nothing short of miraculous for a three month spell.The 2008/09 season, his first full season in charge saw the Shakers at the top of the table for four weeks and the club only fell out of the top four on four occasions.The entire season saw the club in the top ten form start to finish and a final position of 4th brought play off action against Shrewsbury Town.A win at the New Meadow and a defeat at Gigg Lane saw game go to extra time and penalties.Shrewsbury progressed on penalties but missing out on automatic promotion by one goal hurt Knill and his first summer signings were two strikers.

In February 2010 the Shakers secured a 1-0 win over then leaders Rochdale, in a Sky Sports live game at Gigg Lane to move Bury into second position, but a disastrous run of form followed that saw the Shakers miss out on the play offs, finishing the 09/10 season in 9th position.

Alan was offered and signed a contract extension during pre-season - keeping him tied to Gigg Lane until 2011.