A SHAKERS fan has revealed his heartbreak of spending time inside Gigg Lane as hopes grow that 2021 will bring a new start for the town’s football club.

The supporter, who wished to remain anonymous, took pictures inside his “second home” on a cathartic visit to a ground which has not hosted a game since May 4, 2019.

The stricken Shakers have been in limbo since expulsion from the EFL the following August but are the subject of a long-awaited, concrete takeover bid.

Nottinghamshire-based businessman David Hilton continues to talk up his chances of being the man to take control of Bury FC, the club having been placed into administration by Steve Dale in November.

For the season ticket holder who made the pilgrimage to Gigg Lane, the wait for football in the stadium cannot go on much longer.

“There has to be something, it’s only right that there is,” the fan told The Bury Times.

“It’s gone on too long this, 2021 has to be the year where things start to get back to how they should be.

“The town of Bury deserves its football club and that’s why it had football for more than 130 years because it deserved it and it was good enough to have it.

“It’s about time it came back.”

That the ground has not been used for approaching two years was clear to see as the supporter looked around, with one clear exception.

“I just like going over,” he said.

“Since I was about six I’ve been going to Gigg Lane every other week without any period of not doing.

“I thought I’d take my camera and report back on how it was looking. I was hoping to find it in better nick.

“One thing is though that groundsman Mike Curtis is still cutting the pitch and he’s doing it free of charge.

“That means a lot to a lot of people.”

Should Hilton’s takeover be finalised in the near future, it is expected the Shakers would be able to take their place in the National League North, tier six of the football pyramid and two promotions away from a return to the Football League.

When they would return to the field is another matter altogether, given the uncertainly around the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the football calendar, particularly in non-league.

Thoughts of what might be to come are difficult to imagine, such is the suffering fans have endured over the last few years.

And while for the Gigg Lane community there are plenty of fond memories of days on the terraces, that will only suffice for so long.

“It’s hard to put into words,” the fan said after his visit.

“It’s just a building, there’s hundreds of abandoned buildings in the world but it’s not just a building to us.

“It’s our happy place. It’s where our happiest memories our, me and my dad. It’s heartbreaking.

“It’s a second home, it’s a place you go every other Saturday and you feel at home there.

“I’m on nodding terms with about 1,000 people. I don’t know them but they are acquaintances, friends.

“We drink in the same pubs, we have the same sort of routine in the same seats. It’s just a second home.

“I’m drawn to it. I’ve had so many happy times there, even though it’s not looking its best.

“It’s still a nice place to go and reminisce about happier times, but this has gone on for too long.

“When it does come to an end it will be nice to think about happier times in the future.”