Dave McNabb was “gutted” for the Bury fans after narrowly missing out on promotion – but is determined to “regroup” and come back stronger.

The Shakers lost on penalties against Wythenshawe Town in the play-off final after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, with Dean Pinnington cancelling out Sam Sheridan’s opener.

McNabb told the club’s official channels: “Obviously, we knew what the goal was this season and we fell short. The way it has happened is tough to take.

“The game was poor quality, play-off games tend to be that way. I was disappointed that we didn’t take hold of the game a little bit more, we didn’t seem to have any rhythm in our play until we conceded.

“After that, I thought we were really good. To lose on penalties is heartbreaking and I am just gutted for the fans.

“There is no doubt we have let people down and we just need to try to pick ourselves up and go again.”

The limited number of away tickets for the fixture were snapped up quickly and the action was also shown on a big screen at Gigg Lane for those who missed out.

When asked what his message was to supporters, McNabb replied: “Just that I am really sorry.

“They deserved to go up and like I said, there is no doubt I have let them down. I am devastated as a result of it.

“It is just a case of trying to regroup now. We will do some analysis over the next couple of weeks and see where we go from there.”

He added: “We have got to move quite quickly, there is no point moping and feeling sorry for ourselves.

“We need to do some assessment of what we need and what is right for next year, that will have to happen quite quickly.”