BURY had hardly become strangers to losing, but this proved the final straw for the Shakers board.

Another blunt performance up front and a single goal at the other end were enough to mark the end of Chris Lucketti's blink-and-you-missed-it reign as manager.

The 46-year-old was the one man all Bury fans wished could be a success after becoming a Gigg Lane legend as a player and club captain.

But it sadly wasn't to be as his tenure in the top job turned into a disaster.

Appointed on November 22 he was told to leave his role – along with his assistant Joe Parkinson – less than two months after it started.

Only one win came during that spell, in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Seven league defeats on the trot in which Bury failed to muster even a goal necessitated a change.

The signs of a major problem were highlighted by Lucketti himself after this latest defeat when he insisted his players were mentally scarred by their long goalless drought.

A second-half Mark Marshall goal was enough for the Addicks to sneak into sixth with a deserved first away win since October that left Bury rooted five points adrift at the bottom of League One.

The ignominy of a run of more 750 minutes without scoring a league goal continued to hang round the neck of Lucketti's side who created precious little up front after James Hanson had headed wide on 17 minutes.

“I think there is a mentality problem within the group, with the run that we've had and the lack of goals that we've scored,” Lucketti said.

“And that's not just down to the strikers, that's the midfielders, the wide players and defenders from set-pieces.

"It does become a problem in their mindset."

In the same way he did as a player, Lucketti had no thoughts about giving up.

All his focus was on rolling his sleeves up and working to put the things right.

“We've got to get back on the training pitch and keep working hard because there's no hiding place," he said.

"We've got to believe and to keep looking for solutions.

“We just need a spark. We need that win to set us off. We know we've got the players. They're suffering in terms of confidence, that's for sure, but a win will change that.

“There's got to be light at the end of the tunnel. From when I got the job, I certainly didn't think we'd be in this position, so I'll keep working at it until I get it right.”

Bury were on the back foot from the start against Charlton as the Londoners dominated the early stages of the game.

Ben Reeves fired wide from Jay Dasilva’s pinpoint cross before striker Josh Magennis side-footed straight at Connor Ripley in the home goal.

The Shakers stirred into life on 17 minutes when Hanson adjusted to nod narrowly wide from Harry Bunn’s measured cutback.

The visitors were themselves enduring a less than prolific time in front of goal on their travels with only one coming in their four previous away games.

They should have led as Ben Amos’ goal-kick drifted through Bury’s defence all the way to Magennis but he fluffed an attempted lob.

Bury began brightly after the interval, skipper Stephen Dawson firing over the bar from the edge of the box and Zeli Ismail nearly tapping home a Hanson knockdown.

But the Addicks went in front just after the hour mark, Marshall converting Aribo's cutback with a simple side-footed finish from six yards.

Stephy Mavididi, in a second loan spell at the Valley, came close to a second with a mazy run but his shot cannoned off Joe Skarz's outstretched leg and onto the underside of the bar.

A late opportunity fell to Josh Laurent but he badly skewed his effort wide and a cross came off Ezri Konsa's shin and dribbled just wide.

“We just didn't create enough to win the game,” Lucketti added.

“Our turnover in possession needed to be better to get us up the pitch.

“James Hanson won most of his headers and we'd worked on getting Zeli Ismail and Danny Mayor in behind him but we didn't do that enough.”

Bury (3-4-3): Ripley 6; Clarke 6, Cameron 6, Skarz 5 (Cooney 74 6); Bunn 5 (Maguire 85 N/A), Dawson 6, Laurent 6, Leigh 5; Ismail 6 (Dai 74 N/A), Hanson 6, Mayor 4. Subs not used: Murphy, Tutte, Edwards, Danns.

Charlton (4-2-3-1): Amos, Dijksteel, Konsa, Lennon, Dasilva, Kashi, Aribo (Jackson 90) Marshall, Reeves (Hackett-Fairchild 85), Mavididi (Forster-Caskey 88), Magennis.

Subs not used: Phillips, Solly.

Referee: Michael Salisbury.

Attendance: 3,295.