BURY were taken back to their roots yesterday when they trained on Lower Gigg for the first time since moving to Carrington almost two years ago.

The training session was arranged to coincide with a festive visit to Millwood Primary School, where the players met staff and pupils.

Long-serving midfielder Tom Soares was more than happy to show team-mates where his Bury career began, far from the more luxurious surroundings of their current base at Manchester City's former training complex.

It was a timely reminder, given the club's plunge from second in League One in September to the relegation zone following last weekend's 12th straight defeat in the league, of just how far the club has come.

Soares has stuck with the club as it fought back from the brink of liquidation and the spectre of non-league football, and he has no intention of returning to those dark days.

“It’s good to bring some of the new boys down here and show them where we have come from,” Soares said. “Me and Joner (Craig Jones) have been here since day one and appreciate what we have got now and not to take it for granted.

“It’s important for the new boys to see where the club has come from. A good few years ago we were in a bit of a worse position, so it is good for the boys to see how we have grown as a club.”

Since joining the Shakers in the summer of 2012, Soares has racked up 182 appearances.

Aged 30, he is one of the more senior players in the squad, and having been around the block believes the current Bury crop have enough about them end the club's record-breaking losing streak and turn results around.

He said: “I have got faith and I think the other players have got faith that we can get ourselves out of this mess.

“It’s not great, but it’s part of football. We have got a lot of characters in there, a lot of players that have played at a lot of big clubs and they have probably been in this situation before.

“I have been saying to the boys after every game that the penny is going to drop, it’s going to change, and I’ve been in clubs before where you have just got to keep working hard and it will change.”