PRE-SEASON training has started in style for Barrow AFC, with boss Paul Cox so impressed with his squad he gave them an extra day off.

The Bluebirds players were supposed to spend all five days this week pushing themselves at their new Hopwood Hall base, near Rochdale.

But their efforts and commitment since meeting up for the first time last Thursday have pleased their manager to the extent he rewarded them with a day of rest yesterday.

Cox knows his squad still have a long way to go, but said: “The boys are working really hard. We were going to work all the way through this week,but we gave them a day off on Thursday. They are a little bit ahead of where I expected them to be with the ball and everything else and I don't want to push them too hard and for it to be detrimental.

“As I see it, everyone can run round a track, but it's not that I'm looking for. I'm looking for the mentality to complete everything and work as hard as they possibly can in the time we are on the training ground. They are doing that and it's a reward process – I believe in rewarding them.”

He added: “The boys have given me everything on the training ground in terms of their running and I can't ask for much more. Anybody can run round a track and anybody can get in on times, but it is the togetherness and work ethic they have shown me as a group that stands out and there needs to be a reward process.

“With the intensity that training has been at with the ball and without the ball, I do think that sometimes you need a day off to recover both mentally and physically.

“It's all really positive and it's a case of everybody staying focused and not getting too carried away.”

Cox's pleasure at seeing his new squad come together so early is hard to disguise.

The Barrow set-up includes a handful of players who were at Holker Street last season – such as Nick Wilmer-Anderton, Andy Parry and Alex-Ray Harvey – but also a wealth of arrivals in the shape of Liam Hughes, Shaun Beeley, Lindon Meikle and more.

There are also several triallists training with the side to see how they fit in, but overall there is a positive vibe.

Cox is pleased with what he has seen, and said: “It's really hard to gauge and I wouldn't like to compare this group with groups from the past, because every group has its strengths and weaknesses. All I can say is that this group of players have shown a great mind-set.

“What has appealed to me and made me smile more than anything is the camaraderie in the group that has developed very, very early.

“I know there are going to be loads of things which need tweaking and improving as we go through pre-season and I'm not expecting in our first game on Saturday to be anywhere near what I am asking of them. But at this stage, they've done excellently and they deserve all the credit.

“Every club is different that I have had in every pre-season.”