BURY were back in action on home turf for the first time in a month this week and the feelgood factor returned to the JD Stadium with them.

It was fantastic against Rochdale on Friday night and while the crowd was considerably down on Tuesday, when Bury started to play in the second half against Fleetwood you could feel the atmosphere building again.

All the Shakers need now is the points to go with their performances, but looking at the tough matches they have had of late I think they would have recouped considerably more points against lesser opposition.

I think the progress is clear to see. They have been competitive against all of the top teams and taken two good points against teams this week that are among the favourites for promotion.

They have got another tough game this weekend at Southend – the only team in the play-offs Flickers and his side have not yet met.

But Bury are competing now, something they didn’t do earlier in the season, so I wouldn’t put it past them to get a result down there.

And then I think you will see them starting to pick up points against the teams around them.

I am certainly not worried about relegation, even though they are only four points above the drop zone, and while it will never be comfortable, as long as they are down there I think they will end up finishing the season safely in mid-table.

Of course, there is always room for improvement, and I think they are still a couple of players off from being able to compete on an even footing with the top teams.

But I think that will come in time, even without adding to the squad.

The main area of concern for me is the wing-backs. That is a specialised position and, for the large part, I think players are being asked to fill in there rather than being specialists in the role.

I would say everyone who has played there so far are good enough to do it, but they just need time to really nail it down, something you would normally work on in a pre-season.

Craig Jones has been a big miss in this regard as his energy and delivery really look suited to the wing-back position and his absence has left a big hole to fill.

So I expect next season, with a few more months of preparation and a handful of new faces, will be a very different story, when you will see Bury fighting on an even footing at the top of the division.