Bury manager David Flitcroft refused to have a dig at individuals for his side’s 3-2 defeat away at AFC Wimbledon on the weekend – a result that dropped the Shakers off top spot.
Two goals from Adebayo Akinfenwa and a Matt Tubbs effort cancelled out Danny Mayor’s strike and a Ryan Lowe penalty to shunt Bury down to third.
Flitcroft stressed the importance of learning to embrace the role of League Two leaders, having recently lost away to Exeter City when in pole position.
“There’s no blame culture, we won’t blame anyone but we’ll look at ourselves hard and try to get the answers for next week,” he said.
“The next bit of our plan and our journey is that once we are at the top of the league, which we will be again, how we stay there and how we handle that.
“If you didn’t know who was wearing which strip you would think we were the home side going and attacking,” he added.
Bury had more of possession in the match as well as more shots on goal, but they were unable to turn their dominance into points.
The Shakers have had one of the meanest defences in the league, employing a 3-5-2 formation, so will be disappointed to ship three goals.
Goalkeeper Shwan Jalal, who has had to work hard to earn a staring place this season, echoed his manager’s sentiments and feels that the side have what it takes to go up.
“I’ve had three promotions and I think this side is every bit as capable, it bodes well and we can’t let the season rest on one result,” he said.
“Everybody respects each other, everybody is not afraid to be honest with each other, everybody likes to socialise together and I think that’s vital in any side that wants to be successful.
“The manager has challenged us to react; we reacted after Exeter, after Cheltenham,” he added.
After defeats against Cheltenham Town and Exeter City, the Shakers went on to win their next league match and they will hope that pattern continues against Portsmouth next Saturday.
Main image courtesy of Bury Football Club via YouTube, with thanks.
