ALL eyes are on September 27 for Bury FC.

That's when manager Andy Preece reckons he will know if his side has a serious shot at promotion this year, or if they are to be cast as Division Three also-rans.

It has been almost impossible to gauge Shakers' chances this season after an erratic opening four matches.

An unlucky late loss at Swansea, a miserable defeat to Scunthorpe, a hard-fought win at Kidderminster and a thrilling last-gasp win over Lincoln have emphasised their inconsistency and left them in an uncertain mid-table position.

But Preece refuses to draw any conclusions from such a varied start, insisting the important goal was to be within touch of the play-offs after ten games.

"Our league position really doesn't matter until that ten-game mark. After that, you don't want to be in the bottom six or eight teams," he said.

"You want to be within six points of the play-offs and stay there throughout the rest of the campaign. If you can do that, you are in with a chance."

For now, Preece is focused on turning their Bank Holiday bravery into a sustained run of form, which they struggled to achieve last season.

Ironically, their strongest run came at the same point last year when, after two opening defeats, they went on to record five victories and two draws from their next seven outings.

"We don't want to go to Southend this week and waste all that hard work," he said. "We need to keep the momentum going. We had a good run at this stage of last season and if we can have another run like that, we will be in a strong position."

For that to happen, Preece will need to continue his strong run of form, which has seen him net three times already this season.

His aerial threat also appears to have increased this season but his biggest improvement is in his fitness, which has restored him from bit part player to a 90-minute athlete.

"I'm having a good run at the moment," he said.

"All the niggles and injuries have gone. I just feel great to have got through two full games in three days, which I could never have done last season."