PETER Shirtliff refused to sound the alarm bells after the postponement of Tuesday night’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie added to an impending fixture pile-up.

The addition of an FA Cup replay at Southend on Tuesday following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Gigg Lane meant that Bury were already facing eight matches in 29 days.

The Shakers were hoping their rescheduled JPT area quarter-final against Preston would wait until January, but has now been set for Tuesday, December 18.

But Shirtliff, Bury’s assistant boss, believes the situation is nothing out of the ordinary.

“The games are piling up, but obviously it’s the same for everybody over Christmas,” said the club’s assistant manager.

“There’s a lot of games coming up, but we’ve just got to get on with it, the same as everybody else.”