BURY boss Lee Clark showed he was willing to bide his time to get his man after completing a summer-long chase of Tom Aldred.

The 26-year-old centre-back finally put pen to paper on a two-year deal after resisting efforts of Blackpool to keep him.

Bolton-born Aldred became a firm favourite of the Seasiders fans after captaining them to promotion from League Two via the play-offs last season.

But after the Bloomfield Road outfit allowed his contract to run down before offering new terms Bury nipped in to snare his signature.

Clark, who signed the defender from Accrington Stanley while manager of Blackpool, was made to wait, he believes the hard work was worth it.

He said: “We’ve been working this deal for a long time and Tom was one of the first players that we spoke to.

"Obviously, I know him because I took him to Blackpool, he’s won Player of the Year there twice.

"He’s a winner, he ticks the box in that he has won promotion. There were other clubs interested in him and we are delighted that he is with us.”

Clark also explained the significance of the signing, believing he would have been short in the centre of defence without him.

Nathan Cameron is fighting to be fit for the new season after missing most of the last campaign with a knee injury, while Adam Thompson, a summer signing from Southend, could miss matches on Northern Ireland duty.

“Nathan is doing terrific and working hard but he has that injury situation that is on-going," said the Bury boss. 

"We felt that if, at any stage, he had some sort of setback then we would leave ourselves short, especially if Adam Thompson is away on international duty.

"We don’t want to leave ourselves short should anything happen."

Irrespective of the defensive situation at Bury, Clark clearly wanted Aldred from the start and looks certain to be one of the first names on the team sheet come the start of the League One season.

“Tom comes to join us with a determination to defend," he said.

"He’s strong, physical and a leader and a great communicator both on and off the pitch.

"We’ve brought in five or six of those. We have a dressing room full of leaders. We have a dressing room that doesn’t need policing by me or my staff.

“He is an aggressive, strong, physical young man and a no-nonsense defender who can play when he is given time.

"He understands what the role is about when defending. The big challenge for me now is to add him alongside Eoghan O’Connell, Adam Thompson and Nathan Cameron."