RYAN Lowe feels he'll be struggling to name his starting XI to face leaders Shrewsbury on Tuesday night after Bury's 3-0 defeat at home to Blackburn.

Unless chairman Stewart Day makes an appointment before the Shrews game, Lowe will remain as caretaker manager.

But his players are hardly making his mind up with regards to team selection having now lost five of their last six league games.

After last week's FA Cup exit against non-league Woking, Lowe made four changes for Saturday's Lancashire derby and the Shakers made a bright start.

But Blackburn proved too strong as Marcus Antonsson's first-half brace was followed up by Bradley Dack's 63rd-minute strike, sending Rovers back into the League One play-off places while Bury remain bottom.

Lowe said: “A couple have admitted they weren't good enough but it's how we address it now and how we get going again.

“I'm trying to give opportunities to people who haven't had them yet, but ultimately they're not performing so it's going to be tough to pick a team for Tuesday night.”

Blackburn sold out their allocation and there was a good atmosphere early on as recalled Bury pair Harry Bunn and Chris Humphrey tested Rovers keeper David Raya, before Greg Leigh fired wide.

But Blackburn scored with their first attempt on 12 minutes. Lone striker Joe Nuttall laid off for Dack, whose ball behind Phil Edwards was perfect for Antonsson to run on to and fire high past Leo Fasan.

Antonsson turned a Dack knock-down just wide before Fasan rushed out to deny the Swedish forward. The corner eventually fell for Nuttall, who hails from Bury and was making his first league start in English football, to fire over from close range.

The Shakers briefly rallied, with Humphrey sidefooting wide from a tight angle, but then Bury stood off on 37 minutes as Dack played a diagonal ball into the box for Antonsson to head home, with no-one having tracked his run in from the left.

Lowe brought on Chris Maguire and Michael Smith either side of the break, switching to 4-4-2, and Maguire tested Raya with a free-kick and a dangerous cross.

But Dack was then allowed to run towards the Bury box unchallenged and he unleashed a 20-yard strike into the bottom corner.

Bunn went close to claiming a consolation from Eoghan O'Connell's cut-back but his tame shot was blocked, while Callum Reilly fired over from just outside the box.

“We hoped there'd be a reaction (after Woking) and we had one for the first 15 minutes,” Lowe said.

“We were sticking to the game-plan, the wing-backs were high up the pitch, but then we conceded a goal that was avoidable.

“One or two people weren't doing the job I'd asked for and then we crumbled. It was the same for the other two goals, a splitting pass through our midfield.

“We've talked a lot this season about individual errors but I don't want excuses. We maybe started feeling sorry for ourselves but they're men, I want them to stand up and be counted.”

Match ratings

Bury (3-5-2): Fasan 5; Edwards 5, Aldred 5, O'Connell 5; Humphrey 6 (Smith 5, 46), Danns 5 (Maguire 6, 45), Tutte 5, Reilly 6, Leigh 6; Bunn 6 (Sang 85), Ajose 5. Not used: Ince, O'Shea, Williams, Maloney.

Blackburn (4-4-1-1): Raya; Nyambe, Downing, Mulgrew, Williams; Bennett, Smallwood, Whittingham (Harper 77), Antonsson (Samuel 82); Dack; Nuttall (Graham 82). Not used: Caddis, Hart, Wharton, Leutweiler.

Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire).

Attendance: 7,159 (3,606 away).