Barrow AFC boss in the spotlight as Casson arrives for Grimsby clash

Since Edmondson was given a month to save his job, Barrow have stumbled to morale-sapping defeats at Wrexham (4-1) and Guiseley (3-1) – losses which have made the manager’s position even more precarious.

Texas-based Casson will be at Holker Street tonight when AFC will take on National League promotion candidates Grimsby Town (7.45pm kick-off).

Casson always planned to attend tonight’s game and he is also scheduled to take in AFC’s home clash with Woking on November 28 – after which he is due to make a final decision on Edmondson’s future – and the Holker Street game with Boreham Wood a week later.

The millionaire still insists he has yet to make a decision over whether Edmondson will remain in charge of AFC and at this stage he is keeping faith with his month-long assessment plan.

But Casson did not give a cast-iron guarantee that he will resist acting more swiftly if things go drastically wrong tonight.

Asked if he has made up his mind up about Edmondson’s future in the wake of Barrow’s latest two defeats, Cason said: “No I have not.”

He added: “He’s still in charge, still making all of the decisions.

“The only decision at the moment is not to make a decision, based on the timeframe that has been provided. There has been no change.”

Barrow head into the encounter aiming to end a three-match losing run. They were battered 4-1 at Grimsby in August.

And could a fundamental development regarding Edmondson’s future be sparked by very a poor performance and result tonight or will the final decision be made after the Woking game no matter what?

Casson said: “You can never say never, things can change dramatically on both sides.

“Let’s just not play the hypotheticals and see what happens.

“I’m hoping for three points, a really good performance, that the players step up and that the fans get behind the players. It’s a big game against a really good side, we owe them a good performance after our performance at their place, so we need to show what we can do.

“We need three points, so they are all important games at this point, right?”

Barrow will be seeking to produce the type of display which saw them secure a 1-0 victories over Lincoln and Tranmere earlier this season.

In terms of what Casson expects Barrow to produce tonight, one word stood out.

“Passion, that’s what I want to see – the passion to play for Barrow AFC, for the fans, the people and the community,” he added.

“That’s what I want to see, passion.

“Against Tranmere we had lots of passion, against Lincoln I think we had lots of passion.

“There have been games where we have shown lots of passion and there are games that we have not.

“And that’s what I want to see – consistent passion.”

Casson says he has been interested to read the ‘pretty constructive and non-vitriolic’ fans’ opinions about Edmondson.

Casson notes the importance of taking on board the wide range of views, although ultimately it will be him and his board of directors who will decide Edmondson’s fate.

Following tonight’s game, Casson plans to speak to Edmondson about general football business.

But Edmondson’s one-month bid to save his job will see him receive formal feedback, in the form of a letter from Casson, following Saturday’s home game with Torquay.

At that point, the quartet of fixtures – completed after the one-month deadline was set – are sure to be an important pillar of the document, while any squad issues – players coming in or out of the group, etc – could also be discussed.

Casson said: “What we said originally was that we will review it after four games, which is after Torquay.

“He will be provided with some formal feedback on the four games so far – things that we think have gone well, that have not gone well and things that we think he probably needs to still work on.

“And so we’ll have that review.

“We were honestly just trying to be as fair as we possibly can and give him all of the opportunities that we can.”