STEWART Day pleaded for patience from the Bury fans ahead of the release of the club’s latest accounts, which showed they made a £2.9 million loss in the 2014/15 season, when they won promotion from League Two.

The chairman said in a speech at the Shakers end-of-season dinner it would take more time to make the club self-sufficient.

The latest accounts reveal further heavy losses, continuing a trend started last year in the first financial statement logged at Companies House under Day’s tenure. The amount owed to creditors rose from £3.4million to £5.7million, £3.7m of which has been “secured”.

Before the release of the accounts, Day told guests at the award’s dinner that Bury’s financial revival would take time.

“Ultimately we want to get the business self-sufficient,” said Day, who bought the club in June, 2013 following an SOS campaign led by former chairman Brian Fenton following relegation from League One.

“I don’t know a lot of businesses that turn themselves around in such a quick period of time.

“We want to progress this football club, we want to get to the Championship and we want to become self-sustainable, but it is going to take time.

“What I would say to everybody is that it is going to take patience as well.

“You have got to bear with us, you have got to keep on believing in what we are doing, because we are doing the best for the football club, and we will get there in the not too distant future.”

Bury also have the backing of SG Sports Management, a company which Day and Bury’s chief executive officer Glenn Thomas set up shortly before taking over the club, although Day stepped down as a director in February.

Bury’s latest accounts show that SG Sports Management has opened up a credit facility of £7.5m to Bury FC, which can be used to secure the Shakers’ immediate future, should it be required.

Under the agreement, if it is necessary for the club to dip into that facility, any funds that are not repaid within 12 months can be transferred into equity, but it cannot be requested back until next May.

Auditors noted their concerns about the financial sustainability of the business if the agreement with SG Sports was not put in place.

Another significant item on Bury’s balance sheet is the increased valuation of their fixed assets, up from £1.2m the previous year to £6m.

Also, the Shakers managed to raise more than £1m from selling additional shares, with more than four million now in circulation.