Knill took over from Chris Casper at Gigg Lane following a disastrous spell that saw the Shakers slide down the League Two table and into a relegation battle.

Bury went 11 league games without a league win – picking up just two points from a possible 33 – in a barren spell than stretched more than two months before Casper was sacked at the beginning of February.

But cue a revival under Knill, who was sacked as Rotherham boss last March and immediately took over as assistant manager to Lee Richardson at Chesterfield who allowed him to leave for Bury.

Although his return to management began with defeat, Knill has certainly turned things round during his month-and-half in the hotseat.

Bury have won five, drawn two and lost three matches since Knill took over, and that sequence has seen them pull clear of danger.

Such is their revival that Bury take on Wrexham tomorrow at The Racecourse in 16th position in the table and 12 points above the relegation zone.

And Bury go into the match as one of the form teams in the division having won their last three matches.

Victories against Brentford (4-1), Morecambe (2-1) and Rotherham (3-0) have taken Bury up the table and Knill is pleased with the progress made.

Speaking after Tuesday's win against promotion challengers Rotherham – his former club – Knill said: "We are going alright at the moment.

"We've made progress and that's all you can ask. We got eight points in February.

"A few people were saying to me that it was only eight points, but eight points is pretty good. If you can take eight points every month, then you are going to be pretty close to the play-offs.

"It was a good haul for us, especially as I had come in new and the players didn't know what to expect. It probably took us a couple of games to decide which way we were going to play."

Bury's resurgence has been helped by the form of star striker Andy Bishop.

Bishop has scored six goals in Bury's last three matches, contributing with a brace in each game, all of which ended in victories.

That means that Bishop has taken his tally this season to 23 goals, with 17 coming in the league.

There has been a lot of interest in the prolific striker, who was leading scorer last term with 21 goals in all competitions, with Norwich, Ipswich Town and Gillingham among the clubs keen on signing him.

As well as Bishop finding the net with regularity, a number of other players have been impressing the Gigg Lane faithful, including three players brought in by Knill.

Defender Efe Sodje was brought in on a one month-long loan deal from Gillingham which expires after tomorrow's trip to Wrexham.

Sodje has turned in some commanding displays at the heart of the Bury defence and Knill is hopeful the 35-year-old will extend his stay.

Goalkeeper Darren Randolph has joined on loan from Charlton Athletic and has played his part in Bury's revival, while striker Adam Rooney has now extended his loan deal from Stoke CIty and will be hoping to add to his one goal.

Prior to Knill's arrival, Elliott Bennett was also brought in on a temporary deal from Wolves and has caught the eye on the right flank.

Although Bury's position is a lot healthier than it was a few weeks ago, Knill is not taking anything for granted and knows his side must continue to produce the goods against Wrexham who won the corresponding fixture at Gigg Lane 1-0 last December thanks to a goal from Eifion Williams.

"That's three wins on the trot and probably three really good performances," said Knill.

"We go on to Wrexham now. There is no 'that's it, we might be safe', because you know that around the corner there is a shock coming so we have to do exactly this – guard against complacency and take all the positives from the Rotherham win, because there was plenty."

Randolph will continue in goal tomorrow while Steven Haslam, Ben Futcher, Sodje and David Buchanan are almost certain to continue in defence.

Bennett, Paul Scott, Brian Barry-Murphy and Nicky Adams lined up in midfield in the midweek win against Rotherham, while Bishop will either be partnered in attack by Rooney or Glynn Hurst.


The one to watch: Andy Bishop

STAR STRIKER Andy Bishop is in excellent goal scoring form during Bury's recent revival.

Bishop has scored six goals in Bury's last three matches, contributing with a brace in each game which all ended in victories, taking his tally this season to 23 strikes in all competitions.

The 25-year-old striker joined Bury in the summer of 2006 from York CIty and his debut season at Gigg Lane saw him grab 20 goals before injury cut short his season in mid-April.

A former Walsall trainee who made league appearances with Kidderminster Harriers, Rochdale and Yeovil Town, Bishop's goal-scoring exploits at Bury has sparked interest in him by a host of clubs.