As Richie Barker is all too aware, there are definite lessons to be learnt in preparation for Bury’s next season in League One.

After the Shakers were beaten 3-0 by a play-off-chasing Stevenage side, the post-match interviews became about how the team will rebuild, and Barker saw two key elements for improvement.

“We need to make sure we don’t have two of those dips in form which we had this season. If we’d picked up points in those games, we’d be knocking on the doors of the play-offs,” said Barker. “We also need to be a bit more ruthless.”

He was, of course, referring to the nightmare end to August/start of September – where Bury went eight games without a win in all competitions – and the 13-match winless run from January to March.

Captain Steven Schumacher echoed the sentiment, adding: “We could have done a lot better than finishing 14th – we’ve had two blips in the season where we’ve gone for a while without a win and that’s not good enough. We need to stop that.”

The two dips in form were no doubt linked to the departure of key players in both transfer windows. But, how do Bury stop this happening again when they can’t compete financially with the big-hitters in League One who are free to swoop for players whenever they see fit?

Schumacher’s desire for a bigger squad seemed the best option, saying: “I would prefer if we had more of a squad with around 18 regular players all working and fighting for our club, but that’s not always possible.”

The desire for a regular goal scorer was also evident. After the summer departure of Ryan Lowe, the as-good-as-guaranteed goals had to come from elsewhere. This has been one of the areas where the Shakers have struggled and that needs to change next season – especially if they continue to concede over 80 goals.

Obviously, a prolific goal scorer isn't going to come cheap, but Schumacher laid down the gauntlet for the manager and board by stating: “Quality is expensive, but if we want to stay in this league, we’re going to have to go out and get some.”

Following Sheffield Wednesday’s automatic promotion to the Championship, he also added fire the rumour mill stove by saying of Lowe: “Whatever happens with him now and whether he’s part of the manager’s plans for next season, I’d love to have him back. Whatever he chooses to do, hopefully he’ll do well.” Regardless of whether Lowe returns to the Gigg Lane fold or not, finding a goal scorer is a must. As Barker explained post-match, if you’re going to be caught on the attack and concede goals, you need to make sure you’re ruthless at the other end – something which Lowe always excelled in.

When you consider the incredible run that Stevenage have been on – winning promotion from the Conference and League Two in two seasons – they are now on the verge of possibly joining the Championship. What’s their secret? They are, when all is said and done, a smaller club that Bury and yet they have kept their core of players and progressed as the dark horses of League One.

We had this discussion on Saturday in the press box and we think their time in the shadows may soon be over and the vultures will begin to circle, pecking away at their squad. Bury are often said to be victims of their own success, and I can't help feeling Stevenage will soon encounter the same situation.

Regardless of how Stevenage perform in the play-off lottery, we have to seriously rebuild now and I think this summer will be more interesting than the last. Luckily, we have a lot of key players signed up but if we want to go the distance, a bigger squad that can rotate when it needs to is key in my opinion.

The matter of whether Bury can afford to do that lies with the chairman and the board of directors. It becomes an equation of how much they want Bury to stay in League One and how much they want to spend.

Speculate to accumulate, perhaps?