JIM Gannon refused to make excuses following Saturdayés dismal derby defeat to Bury, admitting his side were second best on the day.

The players appealed for a penalty after Keith Briggs had an early effort blocked on the line, but the County boss said he couldnét see the incident clearly and placed his faith in the officials to get the decision right.

Gannon also called on his players to show émore mental strengthé, but especially after their recent resurgence, ités not his style to start throwing the teacups around.

He said: "To see the players play like that was a little bit disappointing, but there was no major inquest after the game.

"Give great credit to Bury. They came in and imposed themselves on the game. They had a little bit more strength than us right from the start."

Gannon cast an envious eye over some of the players available to Bury manager Chris Casper, and felt investment in quality players should have been a priority for County.

"Chris has made some excellent additions. Jon Daly was head and shoulders above a lot of players today, and Flitcroft and Barry-Murphy are both excellent campaigners," he said.

Gannon also played down the on-field spat between Countyés Keith Briggs and James Spencer.

He said: "Things like that happen when players are disappointed with each other.

"Theyéve got to learn how to express that in a more professional manner."

County must now quickly put this disappointment to bed and concentrate on next weekendés tough-looking trip to Cheltenham.

But the boss insisted he isnét looking over his shoulder at the teams around them in the relegation scrap.

He said: "Theyére all huge games, but other teams donét concern me. Weéll be looking for certain players to respond.

"They have to learn how to play at a higher tempo and impose themselves on the game. I donét think we did that today.

"We just need to bounce back now. We had a similar setback against Boston and we responded brilliantly. Ités up to the players to do the business in training."

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