STAY calm and don't panic ... that's the message beleaguered Bury boss Andy Preece has sent to his players.

Preece has seen his squad lose four games on the trot and is feeling the pressure for the first time since he took over the Gigg Lane hotseat last December.

Victory at high-flying Wigan on Saturday would go a long way to sorting out the problems and Preece is convinced it will not take much to get his players winning again.

"I don't think we are doing a lot wrong," said the Bury player-manager, who saw his team slump 2-0 at home to Reading on Tuesday night, a result which drops the Shakers to eighth in the table.

"There are just a couple of things which need fine tuning. We had a chat about this after the Reading game and we will put it into practice in training on Thursday.

"But we aren't far off and we shouldn't let our heads drop, though I don't think the players will let that happen.

"We are going through a bad spell and we need to get back to basics and start defending properly if we are to get out of it."

Preece is still desperately searching for a striker after being snubbed by talented Manchester United duo David Healy and Alex Knotman.

And the boss, who is hoping to sign someone on loan by the end of the week, believes that is the reason why his team are currently going though a bad patch.

He said: "That's the difference at the moment. We just need that person who can get a goal out of nothing.

"I don't think we'll ever be a team that wins games three or four nil. We need to concentrate at the back, keep it tight and try and get 1-0 wins like were doing at the start of the season."

Preece did have words of praise for the fans after attacking them on Saturday for relentlessly booing striker Paul Barnes.

Barnes stayed on the subs bench against Reading but Preece was still pleased with the supporters attitude.

"They were great. They didn't get on our backs and were patient thoughout the match," he added.