BURY boss Richie Barker is refusing to follow the route of some of his fellow Football League managers in banning his players from using social networking sites.

Barker is prepared to give his Gigg Lane charges the chance to communicate with the rest of the world over platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, provided they remain sensible and stick to club guidelines.

“I was at a manager’s meeting last week and the FA made a statement about Facebook and Twitter,” Barker said. “They have backed managers to do what they feel is neccessary.

“It is something I have spoken about with the directors, in terms of trying to limit any damage that might be done, and we have sent the players a letter expressing what we think.

“Nobody has come to me saying they don’t agree with it.

“In essence they can write what they want as long as it doesn’t interfere with the way the team is picked and any other business that is done within the club.

“It is a strong statement to come out and ban because Facebook, for example, is a great way of keeping in touch with friends, but the first time somebody puts something on there about club business it will become a different issue.”

Barker admits, however, that he would not have used such sites during his playing days.

“I look back to the 16 years I played and there were games after which I didn’t particularly want to talk to fans,” he said.

“Fans do approach you – and they are entitled to do that because that is the beauty of lower league football – but when you start having a conversation over a website, things can become misread and blown out of proportion.

“I look back at some of the games I played and I would not want to know what fans thought of me and I have never bothered with that type of stuff.

“But, by the same token, if somebody gives you a bit of stick on a site I would imagine it is difficult not to have a go back. It is a minefield really.”