THE time for talking is over – Lee Clark wants his Bury players to “walk the walk”.

A superbly-placed free kick from Scunthorpe’s Josh Morris four minutes from time robbed the Shakers of a well-deserved point on Saturday.

It looked as if Clark’s men had done enough to at least match the goalless draw they achieved at Rochdale the previous weekend.

But he conceded they have a lot more work to do on the attacking side of their game if they are to make good on his promise of a place in the play-offs.

“We are talking the talk but we’re not actually walking the walk at the moment. But I have got total belief we will and we will turn the corner,” Clark said.

“We are learning the hard way.

“We didn’t deserve to lose the game, that’s for sure.

“The last two games we have been strong defensively, but while there were some bright sparks we need to do more as an attacking team.

“We have to be more ruthless.”

Veteran player-coach Ryan Lowe was handed a first start of the season, playing just behind striker Jermaine Beckford, while deadline-day loan signing Josh Laurent started on the right of midfield.

The first half took a while to come to the boil before Beckford hit the post with a shot on 20 minutes, set up by Lowe’s pull-back after he ran on to Harry Bunn’s quickly-taken free kick.

That spurred Scunthorpe into life and right-back Levi Sutton should have done better, slicing his shot wide after being found unmarked at the back post.

Bury keeper Joe Murphy was called into action soon after, getting down well to palm away Hakeeb Adelakun’s shot.

The visitors looked set to open the scoring when Murray Wallace headed the ball down into the danger area from a corner but a combination of skipper Rory McArdle and former Shaker Tom Hopper somehow scooped it over from two yards.

Bury finished the half strongly, however, and Bunn flashed a decent chance high and wide from a Lowe lay-off.

They continued to carry a threat after the break, with Beckford firing inches wide.

Scunthorpe finally looked to have broken the deadlock on 50 minutes when Adelakun’s free kick from the left edge of the box flew into the top corner.

While the winger cartwheeled away in celebration the Bury players were shepherding referee Eddie Ilderton towards his assistant on the opposite flank, who momentarily raised his flag, and after a brief consultation he ruled out the goal for a foul on Murphy.

Both sides went toe-to-toe after that without getting on top, but momentum shifted on 78 minutes when Bury defender Nathan Cameron limped off in what was his second game back from a 12-month injury lay-off.

Soon after, Morris’ moment of brilliance condemned Bury to a third straight home defeat in all competitions.

But despite the late blow, Clark remained upbeat.

“There are things to get better, of course, but we’re not panicking,” he said.

“It’s not all doom and gloom, but we obviously know that with each game that passes we have to start getting on a run of victories.”