LEE Clark has thrown down the gauntlet to relegation-battling Bury by challenging them to win all their remaining games – starting at home to City tomorrow.

The Shakers currently sit 17th in League One, three points off the bottom four, and are not out of the woods yet.

Clark, who took over at Gigg Lane in mid-February, wants his side to remove any lingering doubts by delivering a barn-storming finish to the campaign.

He said: "We want 15 points from 15. We have to look after ourselves, which is the only thing we can affect."

Bury have had a long time to stew over their last outing, a 5-1 thumping at Oxford in a game brought forward because of the home side's involvement in the Checkatrade Trophy final.

That heavy loss ten days ago was only the second in nine games since Clark assumed the hot-seat from Chris Brass. David Flitcroft was sacked in November.

Clark began with three victories on the bounce. They have won only once since but picked up creditable goalless draws with City's play-off rivals Fleetwood and Millwall.

The Oxford hammering, therefore, came as a shock to the system. Clark believes the extra break with the free weekend since will have helped to clear heads.

He said: "The lads have had a decent amount of rest. Football in England is tough with Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday games, so the rest has probably helped them.

"We are having to rely on the same eight or nine players who we are asking to do the job and they will have needed their down time.

"Of course, they were hurt, but we are not frightened animals who will hide away in the corner, we want to bounce back. We have five Champions' League finals remaining.

"We have looked at it, we have done a lot of work on the training ground and in the classroom. We have worked extremely hard to put it right."