KEVIN Blackwell has warned Shakers fans that the much-mooted revolution at Gigg Lane will not happen overnight.

Even though an unquestionable wave of optimism surrounds the club after the recent takeover, which promises to get the club back on a secure financial and footballing footing after a a nightmarish 12 months, the size of the rebuilding job facing the Bury boss is still a considerable one.

Only five fit first-team players are scheduled to begin pre-season training in a few week’s time, and Blackwell openly admits he may not have a full quota of players to pick from when the League Two season gets underway on the first weekend of August.

A massive restructure in the way the Shakers recruit players is underway, which will include the appointment of a chief scout. Blackwell, pictured, believes between 15 and 17 players could eventually come through the doors but he is eager to avoid the “short-termism” that cost the club dearly as they slipped out of League One last season.

“We have to make sure the signings we make are right for this club,” he said. “I was critical last season of the signings made, players came in that played five or six games and didn’t or couldn’t contribute.

“We can’t have £300,000 or £400,000 worth of wages not playing if most of them are on the medical bench.

“We’ve got to go through a full medical process; we have to go through the scouting process.

“We are all going to have to hold our nerves a little bit here. If I can’t start the season with a full squad, then over the season I hope to bring in the right players at the right time and gradually get this club back on its feet.

“We acted in haste last summer and repented at leisure, didn’t we? We’ve got to get it right this time.”

Blackwell has already lost Phil Picken for the season with a cruciate ligament injury and also admitted there was a doubt over whether Shane Byrne would return from the illness that ruled him out for all but four games of the last campaign.

“Shane still hasn’t come back from the glandular fever – and he might not come back,” admitted Blackwell.