By Mark Shales
The Bury FC revolution will take time admitted manager Kevin Blackwell as the Shakers’ League Two return was dampened by Chesterfield at Gigg Lane.
The club narrowly avoided closure only ten weeks ago but Bury’s new-look side were no match for individual moments of brilliance from the Spireites’ Jay O’Shea and Marc Richards.
A total of 17 new faces arrived at the club over the summer and Blackwell believes the next few weeks will serve as a steep learning curve for his squad.
“Everything’s positive and so long as that graft continues I’ll be very happy,” he said
“The club’s foundations have only just been built, the concrete’s not even there yet and I want people to remember the club has only just come out of intensive care.
“We’re leaning so much about the team, that’s the first time that 11 has ever played together.
“We know we’re on a learning curve and week-in week-out we’ll get better.”
Chesterfield goalkeeper Tommy Lee produced an important stop to deny Shaun Harrad’s close-range header on 20 minutes, following a probing Bury free-kick from Craig Jones.
Shakers midfielder Tom Soares missed a golden opportunity nine minutes later when his sliced slot cleared the bar from four yards out, following a teasing cross from Harrad.
O’Shea opened the scoring five minutes after the break with a superb solo effort, beating Bury’s new skipper Gareth Roberts before curling the ball past keeper Rob Lainton.
Richards then extended the Spireites’ lead with a counter-attacking moment of magic on 66 minutes; sprinting down the left-wing before firing past Lainton.
After the trauma of last season Blackwell is delighted to be concentrating solely on football and not have to face financial distractions.
“The dynamics of the club have totally changed. I can go home knowing I have a football club now,” he added.
“A few weeks ago I had nothing. Every week now for the next six to ten weeks is going to be a big learning curve and if we can get that right we can have a really good season.
“The club’s being rebuilt from top-to-bottom and if you compare us to this time last season it’s absolutely fantastic.”
Image Courtesy of Yellow Book via Flickr, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
