BLUEBIRDS boss Paul Cox hailed the ‘tremendous steps’ made by his side as they prepare to host Macclesfield Town today.

The penultimate home game of the season sees Barrow on the brink of the National League top 10, with victory over their mid-table rivals guaranteeing they will rise at least to 11th (3pm kick-off).

Four back-to-back wins and an unbeaten record stretching back two months have propelled AFC up the table and away from relegation worries.

It is a far cry from the situation Cox inherited when he took over from Darren Edmondson at Holker Street in late November, with the side sitting 16th and having won just one of their previous seven matches.

The turnaround in fortunes has come about with what Cox sees as a change in mind-set among the players, and he said: “We’ve made tremendous steps – you could even say leaps.

“When I first got here, I thought I had inherited a good group who were very low on confidence, very low on direction and were in a bit of a rut and a hole.

“It has been really tough to get results. When you saw the fixtures we had when I first came in, they were all against really good sides.

“We’ve swum the channel. We’ve laid down a marker and the boys have really taken on board what we want, and I think I am happiest now because it has given me food for thought.

“Some of the players have really come out and challenged me for a place in the squad for next season. That makes me happy, because we have got some good players here and I just wanted them to show me that they had that consistency to continue winning football matches.”

Cox still sees a long road ahead before he is happy with where Barrow are as a team.

While there have been positive moves in the right direction, the AFC boss wants things to advance even further, though he feels the squad deserve praise for all they have done so far.

“When you look back to when I first took over, I think a lot of people were raising their eyebrows because we didn’t win a lot of games very quickly,” he said.

“That was down to a number of things. Firstly, we had to get the boys into that unit, give them their confidence and belief back.

“Also, we played a lot of teams in that top half of the table, who we didn’t necessarily get beat by. I think we didn’t get enough credit for some of the results we had earlier on when I first came in.

“Now, we’re starting to bed in a little bit, we’re starting to believe in what we are. That belief has to come naturally, that confidence has to come naturally.

“There is still a long, long way to go before I have a smile on my face, because I think we can still improve, but some of the individual performances and – more importantly – some of the collective performances, have warranted some of the pats on the back the players have been getting.”

Cox faces some tough selection dilemmas for tomorrow’s Macclesfield clash.

Jason Walker and Ben Tomlinson are battling it out to start up front alongside Andy Cook, both having found the net three times since the beginning of March.

Walker was given the nod on Tuesday in the 2-0 success against Braintree Town – and responded with his third goal in as many home matches – while Tomlinson was preferred at Aldershot last weekend.

Dan Pilkington, Paddy Lacey and Steve Williams are three other players eager to move up from the bench and take their place in the side having been given game-time of late.

What was noticeable about the starting 11 on Tuesday was that eight of the players were on the AFC books when Cox arrived – only Jordan Williams, Ritchie Sutton and Andy Parry were not.

The manager sees that as a sign of positive progress among the squad he inherited, and added: “I’ve been honest with the players – I’m always honest with players, whether it’s good or bad. I like to man-manage people and I’ve had a lot of one-to-ones with a lot of them, from the goalkeeper right through to some of the players who weren’t even in the 16 this week.

“I’ve challenged them to really give me something to think about. I’ve never closed the door on anybody and I’m not going to close the door on anybody if they’ve got the desire to want to play for this club and the desire to be a team player.

“It’s all about the team. I think are starting to understand the way we are now.

“You saw Jason Walker on Tuesday night at centre-forward, but he worked tirelessly – sometimes in a defensive way – to sacrifice himself.

“That’s what this team needs to be. It’s what it’s all about. I’m not buying into individuals, I don’t like people who think they are bigger than the team and this group have really come together. The team spirit, the desire, the application, the confidence now is there and we just need to keep that going.”