Parker in loan move to Bury

Keigan Parker: Loaned out to Bury.

KEIGAN Parker has left Athletic to join Bury on a month’s loan.

The Scottish striker has had a disappointing spell at the club since signing in the summer from Huddersfield, making 17 starts and 11 substitute appearances with a return of just two goals.

And with Athletic manager Dave Penney dropping Parker from the squad entirely for the game at Stockport in midweek, the writing was on the wall for a player whose career has been on a downward spiral since leaving Blackpool.

While with the Seasiders, Parker racked up 41 goals in 165 appearances and played a major part in helping the team gain promotion to the Championship in 2007 — knocking Athletic out of the play-offs on the way.

Bury boss Alan Knill will hope that Parker, who agreed to the move yesterday after talks with Penney, can rediscover that kind of form in order to boost the Shakers’ flagging promotion hopes in Coca-Cola League Two.

Meanwhile, the Athletic boss will try to whittle down his host of central midfield options ahead of the visit of Brighton to Boundary Park on Saturday.

The duo of Dean Furman and Alex Marrow dug in at Stockport to help the team to a 1-0 win at Edgeley Park which pushed Athletic closer to safety in Coca-Cola League One.

But on what is likely to be a far better playing surface, Penney — who made a total of five changes from the side which stumbled to a 2-2 home draw with Wycombe — may opt to again switch things round in the team’s engine room in order to get a passing game up and running.

“It was a bit of freshening up as much as anything and a chance for other people to come in and show what they can do,” said the Athletic manager of his changes to the side at Stockport.

“I thought Dean Furman was excellent, while Dale Stephens has been too and he would have played other than him being injured.

“We also have Jon Worthington pushing for a starting role in midfield along with Danny Whitaker and Alex Marrow, so it is nice to be getting a few bodies back.”

Stephens, who had enjoyed an unbroken run of 15 starts since making his first-team debut against Norwich, has a chance of turning out against Brighton after a hip injury.