YOUNG Bury strikers Danny Rose and Hallam Hope will come good, promised manager David Flitcroft, after leaving them both out of his starting line-up on Saturday.

The Shakers maintained their three-point cushion in the final play-off spot following a 1-1 draw at home to Exeter.

Rose, aged 21, and Hope, 20, were both introduced in the second half as Bury chased all three points, but neither was able to claim a winner.

Hope made it an unlucky 13 games without scoring while Rose stretched his barren spell to 12 matches.

Flitcroft is likely to stick with Saturday’s attacking line-up for tonight’s trip to Stevenage, with creative midfielders Danny Mayor, Nicky Adams and Craig Jones supporting lone frontman Danny Nardiello.

But the Shakers boss is confident his fledgling forwards will be soon be firing again.

“Rosey and Hallam are still young lads and the expectation on them is massive,” he said.

“We will just make sure we keep on working with them and they will come good because they are quality – they are pedigree.

"I fully believe they will come good.”

The stage could be set for them tonight, with Graham Westley's Stevenage going into the game on the back of three straight defeats.

That bad run has seen them slip to 10th in League Two, four points behind Bury.

And while Saturday's draw saw the gap between the Shakers and the top three increase to 10 points, Flitcroft has assured doubting supporters his squad is capable of mounting a successful promotion challenge.

“You stick to the plan, if you listen to all the moans and groans at a football club you would never make a decision for yourself,” he said.

“We train with them every day, we see the sacrifices they put in.

“That’s why you know it is going to come good.

"We will stick with them – it’s all about trust.”

Former captain Jim McNulty could be set for a return to the starting line-up after coming on for injured centre-back Adam El-Abd on Saturday.

El-Abd pulled up with a hamstring strain and is a serious doubt for tonight's match.

But with experienced cover in that position, the manager’s main concern ahead of the 360-mile round trip is the fans, who face a second midweek league fixture in Hertfordshire this season, following an earlier night match at Luton.

“It’s mad on the fans, who have got to take half a day or a day off work to get down there,” he said.

“I always wonder with the fixtures and how they set them up, do they ever really think about the fans and the logistical side of it?

“It seems crazy. We can’t do anything about it, we have got no control over it, you just hope that the powers that be will get it right.”