BURY manager David Flitcroft has no fears about whether his players will be able to handle the pressure of being league leaders.

The Shakers knocked Burton Albion off the top of the League Two table on Saturday with a 3-1 win against Gary Rowetts’ side.

And they now travel down to Exeter this weekend as the team to be shot at.

But Flitcroft is confident that, following last season’s successful battle to beat relegation, his players have the quality and mental toughness to make the top spot their own.

“We were there to be shot at last season. Everyone said when I came in that we were doomed,” he said.

“I think the pressure of going out of the league, for a club like Bury, is massive.

“These players performed miracles last season. For me, that was pressure. This is a privileged pressure because if we can’t enjoy getting better at what we do then we’ve got the wrong group. And I do believe we’ve got the right group.”

Bury extended their unbeaten league run to eight matches with the win against Burton.

Flitcroft will hope to extend that run at 20th-placed Exeter on Saturday.

And while their opponents go into the game on the back of two straight wins, the Bury manager believes the form his side are now showing – both in defence and attack – will be hard to match.

“I’ve been taught well, that if you can keep control and keep focusing on the performances, the wins will come,” he said.

“If you defend and attack like we do then they’ll come because you’re doing everything to the letter of the law from a coaching point of view.

“They’re (the players) in their prime at the minute, they’ve hit a rhythm.

“The work ethic on the training ground and the willingness to win and keep clean sheets is phenomenal.

“Pablo Mills was mortified in the dressing room because we didn’t keep a clean sheet (against Burton)! That’s the spirit from within.

“But I told them to enjoy looking at the table because they’ve worked hard for it.”