Jim Vince's side were beaten 1-0 by League Two Bury, but put on a more than encouraging show for more 1,000 inside the Shay in only their second game together.

"I am sure that the doubters who may have asked questions about the club have seen the type of football we want to play," said Vince.

"People want to watch that because it is entertaining.

"The squad is taking shape and I am sure that if we can perform to the levels this year that we did in our second game we will be okay."

Vince has stressed that it is performances and not results that are key in pre-season.

But even taking that into account, Town deserved to get more out of the game than a string of impressive performances from the likes of Ross Clegg, Ben Jones, Adam Morning and centre backs Steve Payne and Tony Barass.

"Without doubt the players are disappointed," he said., "And that's good because it shows a little bit of hunger.

"I just don't know how we didn't score because we created quite a few opportunities.

"It was a strong team that Bury put out and I am sure if it was a competitive game there would have been an edge to them.

"But I am sure that some people watching the game as a neutral would have wondered which team was the professional one.

"That's good from us."

In typical pre-season style, Vince made nine changes throughout the second half of last night's match.

But even though only Ross Clegg and Steve Payne remained of the starters by the end of 90 minutes, Town were still trying to get forward at every opportunity.

"I could have kept the same players out there, but the purpose of the game was to have a look at players.

"I wanted to test them and see how they came up to the challenge.

"A few questions were asked - and a few answered.

"Everyone associated with the club should have gone home thinking they were happy."

There were nine trialists on view, with the likes of former Crewe trainee Junior Brown, ex-Liverpool youngster Mattone Awang and Mario Brown, who has played at Rochdale, and Chris King making an impact.

"I am not going to pick out individuals, but I was pleased with a few of the trialists," he said. "And it is not just me, I think the supporters will have realised these guys can play."