As champagne corks prepare to pop to mark the start of a new year, Alan Knill is more interested in bottle.

Too many times this season, when the going has got tough, heads have gone down, according to the Iron manager, who is keen to see more strength in adversity if Scunthorpe are to end a miserable year on a much-needed high.

The way United buckled during the second half of a 3-1 defeat to Bury on Boxing Day was a prime example of the lack of confidence which has seen them slide into the League One relegation zone ahead of Saturday's home test against bottom-of-the-table Chesterfield.

Between them, the Iron and the Spireites have won just one of the last 24 matches and both clubs will see their next fixture as a chance to improve their points tally.

If it is to be United that do that, Knill says more of his side must stand up and be counted.

"That's football isn't it? These things happen," responded the United boss, when asked if heads went down after Bury's equaliser on Monday.

"It's never simple, it's always difficult and when it's difficult you have to stand up and do the right things.

"For half the season, when we've gone behind and needed to step forward, we haven't done.

"That's the problem for us as staff, because we think we're preparing the players well enough, but we're not getting what we think we should do.

"It just seems when things go against us, we haven't got that step up in us.

"That's something we've got to get over and we're trying our best to get over it.

"Saturday's is a game we should be talking about winning, but until we're mentally stronger, it's difficult."