BURY boss David Flitcroft is determined to reconnect with the supporters who booed his side off the pitch following Saturday’s defeat at home to Dagenham and Redbridge.

The Shakers, who dropped out of the League Two play-off places for the first time since August following their fourth straight loss, entertain second-placed Luton on Saturday in the second round of the FA Cup.

They go into the match short on confidence and players, with a number of doubts hanging over key members of the squad due to sickness and injury.

But while Flitcroft accepts his responsibility to ensure the team overcome those problems against the Hatters, he has appealed to fans eager for a short-term solution to share his longer-term view.

“I don’t think there was a level head (when I arrived) at this football club, and I don’t think there is now,” he said.

“There is a high expectation and I think some of the level of comments that are coming towards the players and myself, whether it is justified or not is something we are going to have to deal with.

“When I first came to the club I couldn’t believe how every department was fighting within itself, the whole organisation was fighting within itself and I tried to pull a synergy together.

“I feel that is just disjointed now and I feel it is just becoming pulled apart, so it is my job to try to make sure that I balance that out and connect again.

“But football is short-termism. I understand that, I understood when I got the job, but we are looking at a medium-term to long-term plan here.

“People on the outside will just want quick change, but you can’t just do that.

"We are trying to build something here but if you want to build something up high you have got to make sure that your foundations are in place and we have got a lot of work to do.”

Luton travel to the JD Stadium on Saturday with just one defeat in their last nine matches.

Bury will have to face them without new centre-back Adam El-Abd, who is cup-tied, and fellow loan signing Rob Milsom, who has not been released by Rotherham.

They will also be without goalkeeper Scott Loach, who has been returned to the Millers with a groin strain, while Hayden White has been undergoing treatment on a knee injury back at parent club Bolton Wanderers.

Pablo Mills continues to struggle with a groin strain, leaving Flitcroft with few options in defence, although Craig Jones and Keil O’Brien have recovered from injuries.

Illness has also spread through the camp, with Chris Hussey and Chris Sedgwick missing last weekend’s match with a virus and Hallam Hope laid low by a serious bout of food poisoning.