KEITH Hill says he “wouldn’t be afraid” to take up the vacant manager’s job at Bury.

The former Rochdale boss has emerged as a strong contender to replace Ryan Lowe and lead the Shakers into League One next season.

Hill is currently abroad but says he would be interested in speaking to the club despite its apparent precarious position. 

Shakers owner Steve Dale is liaising with creditors and trying to reduce debts in an effort to stave off administration, which remains a distinct possibility.

And though there has been no official approach to Hill, the 50-year-old, who has also managed Barnsley, is keen to return to the game after leaving Spotland in March.

“Nobody’s spoken to me about the Bury opportunity, whether there is one or not. I’m available. I’m free to speak to anyone with respect to if they wanted to employ me,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who it is or where it is. If I feel as though the project’s right for me, then I wouldn’t be afraid to take it up”.

Other names being put in the frame by bookmakers include Derek Adams, Russell Slade, Owen Coyle and Stuart McCall. But Hill’s apparent enthusiasm – plus his exemplary record working under a tight budget with Dale – could give him an edge over his contemporaries.

“I’m recharged,” he said. “If the right opportunity was to present itself to me then I want to get back into football but I am not desperate to get back in and make the wrong decision.

“I have turned down a couple of opportunities which didn’t quite fit for me but I love the game and every minute of the time I had at Rochdale. It was an amicable parting of the ways and I want to get back in, but I won’t do it just out of desperation.

“I am going to get back in when I feel it is appropriate and I have got the right fit with respect to club or to coaching.”