BURY boss David Flitcroft fears his squad are getting used to that 'losing feeling' after they fell to their seventh straight away defeat in the league at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.

The Shakers manager said he was concerned at the way his players' heads dropped after Ashley Hunter opened the scoring for the home side four minutes into the second half.

Bury were made to pay for missed chances in the opening period, with Leon Clarke and Scott Burgess both going close.

Bobby Grant doubled the lead for Fleetwood 12 minutes from time, turning in Antoni Sarcevic's cross, and the scoreline could have been even worse had Jamie Proctor not missed three glorious late opportunities for the home side.

But Flitcroft is confident he can stop the rot that has seen Bury fall from the League One play-off places earlier in the season down to 14th after their latest defeat.

“The goal just drained their confidence,” he said after the final whistle.

“My worry is that, as a group, we are getting used to that feeling and I have got to lead them through the troubled waters.

“It was a really poor goal to concede and you could see the confidence just drain out of them.

“We have got to address that.

“You could see that 'here-we-go-again' moment after that first goal and that's something that does concern me.

“Whether it's different personal or keep working at it on the training ground, we will find the answers.

"At the minute I can't come up with it.”

Flitcroft promised to shake things up following the defeat at Port Vale in their previous match and he did that with four changes.

In came former youth team striker Anthony Dudley for his first start in a Bury shirt, along with fellow teenager Burgess and utility player Reece Brown.

Andrew Tutte also made a welcome return from a long-term hamstring injury to replace Danny Pugh in the centre of midfield.

Right-back Joe Riley and holding midfielder Kelvin Etuhu were missing from the squad following knocks picked up the previous week, while striker Tom Pope dropped to the bench.

The hosts, who started the day in the relegation zone, got off to a flying start and should have been ahead inside the opening 20 minutes.

Grant's long-range effort looked to have caught Bury keeper Daniel Bachmann out of goal, but a fortuitous deflection sent the ball wide.

Skipper Nathan Cameron made a couple of important early interventions. His last-ditch tackle denied Proctor a free shot on goal in the eighth minute. The Bury captain then blocked another Proctor effort a minute later, this time stopping the ball two yards out.

The Shakers' first chance arrived when Craig Jones sent Burgess bursting down the right, he got to the byline and cut the ball back to Leon Clarke, who drilled it wide of the near post.

Fleetwood kept up the pressure, though, and Nathan Pond came a lick of paint away from putting his side into the lead when his looping header landed on top of the crossbar in the 20th minute.

The visitors stepped up a gear after that miss and created a number of chances of their own.

Danny Mayor stepped away from two tackles on the edge of the box before lashing over and Leon Clarke's header was kept out by a smart save from Fleetwood keeper Chris Maxwell down to his left.

Maxwell was called into action again moments later when Burgess was sent through on goal by Tutte, denying the Bury youngster with a splendid finger-tip save down to his left.

The two sides went into the break on level terms, but any confidence Flitcroft's young side may have taken from that quickly evaporated when Hunter raced on to a ball over the top and drilled it low into the bottom corner to open the scoring for Fleetwood four minutes after the restart.

Chris Eagles was sent on in place of Dudley in the 54th minute for his first appearance in four weeks, while Danny Rose entered the frame in place of Tutte with 20 minutes remaining.

Neither substitute was able to inspire a fightback and the hosts went on to double their lead in the 78th minute when Grant prodded in Sarcevic's low cross from the left.

Despite the defeat, Flitcroft was pleased with how his younger players - Dudley and Burgess - adapted after being thrust in to the first team sooner than planned.

“The two young boys gave us everything,” he said.

“Burge was excellent in his running power. He has got in a couple of times and got a shot off, so Burge has done fantastic.

“We are losing games with experienced players so I have thrown the young boys in to see if they maybe they would play without fear. Burg certainly showed that and Anthony at times picked up some really intelligent positions on the right-hand side.”

BURY (4-1-4-1): Bachmann 5; Jones 5, Cameron 7, P Clarke 5 (Pugh 87, 5), Hussey 5; Brown 5; Dudley 5 (Eagles 54, 4), Burgess 6, Tutte 6 (Rose 67, 5), Mayor 5; L Clarke 5.

Not used: Sedgwick, Pope, Mohammed, Miller.

FLEETWOOD TOWN: (4-3-3): Maxwell; McLaughlin, Pond, Teixeira, Bell; Sarcevic, Ryan, Jonsson; Grant (Nirennold 87), Proctor, Hunter (Forbes 79).

Not used: Jordan, Haughton, Sowerby, Fosu, Gogic.

Goals: Fleetwood 2 – Hunter 49, Grant 78.

Yellow cards: Bury – Cameron 26.

Referee: Nigel Miller (County Durham).

Attendance: 3,301 (804 visiting).

STAR MAN: Nathan Cameron – The skipper put his body on the line for his side, making a number of crucial blocks to deny what looked like certain goals. The 24-year-old also won his share of aerial duels and played the ball out from the back whenever possible.