LEE Clark had to watch his side concede a 90th-minute winning goal from the stands after he was sent off during Bury’s 3-2 defeat at Rotherham

Kieffer Moore twice put the Millers ahead, but they were pegged back in each half by Jermaine Beckford and Nathan Cameron headers.

And when it looked like the Shakers may cling on for a share of the spoils Richie Towell drilled home the winner in the final minute.

It was the second time in as many weeks that Bury had conceded a crucial late goal, leaving Clark wondering about his side's psychological state.

“We have got to learn,” Clark said. “We have taken a step back before we go on to play without fear. We wait until we go one down before we try to have a go to get back into the game. It’s like a boxer, they give us a whack before we then respond.

“It looked to me like we were happy both times settling for the point when we should have been going for the jugular at 2-2.

“When you don’t win games players begin to feel it psychologically and it affects their performances.

“We are in a position that we don’t want to be, results are not going the way we want but we have got to be men. We can’t be cowards and curl away in the corner.”

At half time Clark had a verbal altercation with referee Chris Sarginson in the tunnel which resulted in him watching the second half in the stand next to chairman Stewart Day.

However, the Bury boss denies using any foul or abusive language and says he apologised to the team of officials.

Clark explained: “The referee asked us to stay up in the stands because he felt I acted in an aggressive manner in the tunnel area, which I have since apologised for, to him and the fourth official.

“I am a bit disappointed there. What I can say is that I did not use foul or abusive language and there was an angry exchange between myself and the ref and the fourth official.

“I have never talked about referees before and I certainly won’t now. I will be speaking to the powers-that-be to put my thoughts across and then we can see what’s happening from there.”

Bournemouth loanee Mihai Dobre was handed his debut from the bench in the 55th-minute to become the 29th player to play for the Shakers this season.

And Clark was shocked when he was told that statistic after the game.

“I didn’t realise that was the case,” Clark admitted. “Right, whoa, it’s a high stat. We’ve had a horrific time with knee injuries which we cannot prevent. We have stopped the soft tissue injuries so we have rectified that.

“While you’re not winning games you have to look at different options. We have tried to be settled with our options, certainly with the back players, but we have got to find a solution to getting results and getting wins.”

Match ratings

Bury (4-4-2): Murphy 8; Williams 5 (Dobre 55, 6), Cameron 8, Whitmore 5, Leigh 5; Laurent 4, Ince 4, Edwards 4, Bunn 5; Lowe 6 (Smith 60, 6), Beckford 6.

Unused subs: Fasan, Aldred, Cooney, Reilly, Maguire.

Rotherham (4-5-1): Rodak; Cummings (Towell 40), Wood, Ihiekwe, Purrington; Williams (Forde 75), Vaulks, Potter, Frecklington (Ball 85), Taylor; Moore.

Unused subs: O’Donnell, Mattock, Yates, Newell.

Referee: Chris Sarginson (Staffordshire).

Attendance: 7,848 (574 visiting).