ADAM El-Abd was not about to make the same mistake twice when the call came from David Flitcroft last month.

As the Bristol City loanee explains, he had passed up the opportunity to work with the Bury boss once before when he was plotting a move away from hometown club Brighton.

At that point Flitcroft was manager at Championship side Barnsley, but while El-Abd admits he was tempted to decamp up north to work with him, the 30-year-old centre-back eventually plumped for a move to the West County.

His time at Bristol has not worked out, however, with the former Egyptian international losing his place in the first team this season following his switch to the League One side last January.

He is now working hard to get his career back on track during a two-month loan spell at the JD Stadium.

“I had a chat with the gaffer before, when he was at Barnsley, and I knew he was keen to sign me then," said El-Abd.

“The decision was a real tough one to make, at that point in my career.

“Part of me did regret that because I was really looking forward to working with him (Flitcroft) because he is a really enthusiastic manager who likes to play the game the right way.

“Now I have come here and it has proved to be exactly that.

“I am really enjoying playing with a good group of lads and great staff and I think we can hopefully have a good time together."

While El-Abd is enjoying life behind the scenes at Bury, results on the pitch have been up and down since his arrival.

He lost his first two matches but has since formed a promising partnership with new captain Nathan Cameron at centre-back, helping the Shakers end a nine-match winless streak to go three games unbeaten before Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Dagenham.

But he added: “I am sure that, given time, we will start getting the results on the pitch, and get us back in the top three, which is where we belong.”

El-Abd still has four games to play before the end of his spell, and admits he has not yet spoken with Flitcroft or Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill about his long-term future.

The Bury manager, however, seems keen to extend his stay and is planning to open talks with his counterpart at Ashton Gate.

“He (El-Abd) is what the squad was missing,” said Flitcroft. “He is someone who inspires and he is enthusiastic every day. He works incredibly hard and is someone who takes us forward.

“But it has got to be down to what Bristol want to do.

“Do they want to tie him up for six months and have him in the run-in, I am not too sure.

“Certainly we will speak to Steve over the next 10 days and put a plan in place.

“But Bristol want to keep their options open. If someone comes in for El-Abd and want to take him on then there is not much we can do because he is Bristol’s player, but certainly me and Steve will have a chat about his future.”