BURY’S rise to the higher echelons of League Two has highlighted the key characters who will take them onwards and upwards, but also the biggest challenges they will soon have to overcome.

For every Danny Mayor, a successful side will need a Nicky Adams. Both players have proved their worth during the campaign’s opening stages, if not in Tuesday night’s shock defeat.

David Flitcroft described Danny as unplayable at this level after recent performances, and now he has added goals to his game you have to agree.

You can see the confidence oozing out of him now after those three strikes against Accrington, Wimbledon and Portsmouth.

Defenders must be aware he is going to cut inside from the left before pulling the trigger, but stopping him is a different matter.

Nicky has not had that same kind of impact in terms of goals scored, but his influence on the team has been equally as important.

He is like a wasp in the final third, buzzing around defenders, teasing them into making mistakes and then stinging them with a killer ball.

He has also shown plenty of skill, a great example of which was the scissor-kick pass on to the head of Ryan Lowe on Saturday.

That is not something you will see every day, and not something many other players in the team could have pulled off.

I get the feeling, watching Nicky in full flow and listening to Flicker’s comments, the only reason he did not make a long-lasting success of his time in the Championship was his decision-making. That is not to say he continually makes bad decisions, but when given the time to make them the talented young midfielder has a tendency to rush.

His volleyed assist for Bury’s second goal against Portsmouth was an instinctive piece of genius, but the Shakers manager seemed most impressed after the match with his patience on the ball.

If Flicker can crack that, by slowing Nicky down a little and making him weigh up his options, then he will become the Championship player we all know he is capable of. By tempting that talent out of his players, the Bury boss is adding value to his summer acquisitions. But that, in turn, will bring its own challenges.

Bury has always been a selling club. It will be interesting to see how the management deal with any offers when the transfer window re-opens in January.