Midfielder John Rooney feels Barrow AFC were more like their normal selves against Ebbsfleet United last Saturday, when they fell to an undeserved defeat.

The performance at Stonebridge Road was a big step up from what the Bluebirds had produced in their previous three games, against Chorley, Barnet and Harrogate, which seemed to shatter their confidence.

Several of the more positive hallmarks of their game under manager Ian Evatt returned, such as the tidy passing and the ability to quickly win back possession.

However, they couldn’t find a finishing touch their build-up play deserved and their search to find an equaliser to Danny Kedwell’s first-half goal was eventually fruitless.

Rooney said: “It was a really good team performance from us and we looked back to our normal selves.

“The last couple of weeks we haven’t been at the races, but we were back to how we normally play and we should have come away with all three points.

“We created some great chances, we conceded a sloppy goal, but we regrouped, which is something we’d struggled with lately after we’ve conceded, but we created a lot of chances after their goal.

“We continued to create a lot in the second half, which is why I think we should have come away with all three points.”

While it wasn’t enough to prevent Barrow’s run of defeats being extended to five games, in all competitions, the display at Ebbsfleet did restore some pride after a disappointing few weeks.

It should also be a big boost the players’ self-belief, which had taken a battering, for when they welcome Eastleigh to Holker Street in their next match, a week on Saturday.

Rooney said: “We went away from the things we usually do in the last few games, but we’ve looked more like ourselves at Ebbsfleet.

“Obviously we didn’t win, but we got back to playing the way the gaffer wants us to and our next game is at home, so hopefully we’ll be able to pick up all three points in that one.”

Barrow will be hoping they can show the same resilience they displayed in Kent, where their tendency to self-destruct after conceding a goal didn’t rear its head this time, as they continued to dominate possession.

“The gaffer has told us that if we do concede then we mustn’t go under as a team,” Rooney said, adding: “We pick the ball out of our net and we go again.

“We need to keep doing what we do and we did that this time, but unfortunately we didn’t score the goal that would have got us the points we deserved.”