ONLY victory at play-off rivals York City today will keep Bury’s slim hopes of promotion alive.

But another three points to add to their run of four wins in their last five games could well put them right in the mix.

With three matches of the League Two season remaining, the Shakers are seven points behind the Bootham Crescent outfit, who occupy the final play-off place.

Saturday’s four-goal hammering of Plymouth Argyle further boosted the in-form side's soaring confidence, but while Bury could move to within four points of the top-seven if results go their way, manager David Flitcroft accepts the club’s immediate fate is out of their hands.

“The quality of the football on Saturday was incredible and it gives us a great bounce going into the York match,” he said.

“But it’s not under our control.

“What is under our control is what we do and how we train the players.

“If teams get out of sight then there is nothing we can really do, we have always been playing catch-up from when I came in.

“We just want to make sure we are competitive, we’re doing the right things and we remain professional.”

While ending York’s 14-match unbeaten run would extend Bury’s dream of promotion, realistically, the gap to the play-off places looks too big to bridge.

It is perhaps telling that Flitcroft already has one eye on planning a serious punt on promotion next season, tying up centre-back Pablo Mills on a new 12-month contract last week while entering into talks with Chris Hussey over a similar deal.

And it looks like players outside of the current Shakers squad are also falling over themselves to join what chairman Stewart Day dubbed the “Bury revolution”.

“We are already getting sound-bites from quite a few players who want to join,” revealed Flitcroft.

“But I think we were on the football map anyway, from the changes that have been made at the club.

“Professionals will seek us out. People who want to do it right will want to end up at the right club and I believe this is the right club.

“It is certainly a club that knows its direction. It has got a vision and a plan and people want to be a part of that.”

Despite the temptation to dive head-long into preparations for the next campaign, Flitcroft is not willing to give up the ghost of this one just yet.

And he promised fans they will head to Bootham Crescent focused on ensuring Bury still have something to play for in Saturday’s final home game of the season against Portsmouth.

“We have got a job to win football matches for the club and for the fans, so we are busy trying to do that - it is just about getting our priorities right,” he added.

“There are only 24 hours in a day. Sometimes there is that much going on here, we could do with a few more.”