BURY manager Chris Brass praised his side after they claimed a narrow 1-0 home win over Swindon Town.

Swindon came unstuck in the 37th minute when Raphael Branco was punished for pulling the shirt of Shakers striker Tom Pope.

James Vaughan stepped up and dispatched the penalty into the roof of the net as Swindon descended into the League One drop zone.

Luke Williams’ troops tried to get themselves back into the game, but struggled to break down a rugged Bury backline.

Brass also altered the formation of his side to counteract Swindon’s style of play by playing with five defenders at Gigg Lane.

The 41-year-old admits that defensive performance was the main difference between the two League One strugglers.

The former Burnley man also claims he couldn’t see the game’s pivotal moment from the touchline, but believes the referee made the right decision to award the spot-kick.

“I’m proud of the desire, commitment and the work to keep a nil,” said the Bury boss.

“They did what I asked, which was pleasing. It was a good, honest performance.”

“In fairness to Pope, he’s as honest as anybody. The lad has got hold of him and the referee was right on top of it.

“I’ll be honest. From where I was, I didn’t see it and I’m not going to pretend that I did. However, Tom was adamant and so was the referee.”

Prior to the game, Brass says his side did plenty of homework on Williams’ team, meaning Town were not too much of a shock to him or his players as they claimed all three points.

“We watched them a lot. I think they’re a very good footballing side. It took us probably 10 or fifteen minutes to calm ourselves down,” added Brass.

“When we slotted into our own formation and worked it out, we were a little bit more patient with the ball and I thought we were quite comfortable.

“Prior to that, we knew they were going to cause problems. I was looking forward to a little bit of a game of chess but we managed to get a checkmate at the end.”