Steven Schumacher: Captain unsure of Bury future

Steven Schumacher does not know if he will be a Bury player next season as the club prepare for life in league Two amid serious financial difficulties.

Their two-year stay in League One ended after finishing third from bottom.

But captain Schumacher has been one of Bury's best performers, scoring 10 goals from midfield in 44 appearances.

"I've had a decent season and I believe there's a bit of interest out there, but I'll do what I'm told to do," he told BBC Late Kick Off North West.

The 28-year-old has a year remaining on his contract at Gigg Lane.

The Shakers revealed earlier this month that they needed £1m urgently to survive.

The board say they are currently discussions with interested parties, but Schumacher believes some players may already be contemplating a move away from Gigg Lane.

He added: "Players have got to look after their own families and their own livelihoods, and when there's rumours knocking around that the club are really in financial trouble, you need to start looking out for yourself.

"We've only got a few lads in contract for next season and already they're talking about reducing the budget, so it's going to take some rebuilding.

"Hopefully they can get some investment in and some good structure at the club."

Bury ended the season on a positive note on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over play-off bound Yeovil, but it has largely been a miserable period for the club which has seen them twice placed under a transfer embargo because of their financial troubles.

Schumacher, who did not feature in any of Bury's final five matches because of a hernia problem, said: "It's difficult to put your finger on one particular thing.

"We lost our manager [Richie Barker to Crawley] a couple of days before the season started, which disrupted everything.

"Since then, we've always looked capable of getting out of trouble [under Kevin Blackwell], but we haven't managed to do it."