BARROW AFC manager Paul Cox hopes his side can carry the momentum from last weekend’s victory at Welling United forward to Woking tomorrow.

Cox wants to see AFC build on their second-half display in South East London when they face the National League play-off contenders (3pm kick-off).

The 2-1 win – thanks to goals from Danny Livesey and Ashley Grimes – was a first for the Bluebirds in five league matches and lifted them nine points clear of the drop zone.

Altrincham’s victory over Woking in midweek – a result which denied tomorrow’s opponents the chance to climb to fourth in the table – means that margin is now eight points, but Cox is feeling positive given the Welling display.

He knows there are some tough matches coming up – with home games against Gateshead and title contenders Cheltenham Town next week – but feels his side can produce results if they reproduce their form from last weekend.

“They are all tough games coming up, but if we show the same mindset as we did in the second half at Welling, where we played with freedom and it seemed we lost our inhibitions, then we have a chance,” said Cox.

“It’s the mentality, it’s not that we haven’t got the good players, it’s that consistency of mindset that we need to develop. That’s key for us.

“I think anybody in this league can beat anybody else. It’s just that the teams at the top are a little bit more consistent with it than the teams around ourselves in the table.”

Cox’s cause has been boosted by a rare let-up in injury concerns.

He has had to deal with numerous fitness issues in the two months since he took over, but there were no knocks picked up at Welling and he should have a full squad to pick from tomorrow.

Now he is concentrating on ensuring that squad can build on the Welling result.

“Everyone reported back okay – it’s nice for us to finish a game without having to look over your shoulder to see how many people will be training,” added Cox, who welcomes back Andy Haworth to the squad tomorrow after the winger recovered from a back issue.

“That’s a positive, but I think that also comes with the mentality of winning. On Saturday, we didn’t just win, I thought we won well.

“If we had put the chances away which we had – and I think some of them were really good chances – we could have won the game 4-1 or 5-1.

“That’s what we have to improve on now, being a little bit more ruthless in that last third to kill games off.

“Look at the games with Tranmere and Gateshead, even to an extent the Southport game, and these are games I don’t think we deserved to lose. We should have got something out of them and won more games, but we have to be more ruthless in front of goal.”

He added: “We have had some tough fixtures. We have been on the road and we’ve not had a full squad to pick from.

“I keep saying that it has been a baptism of fire for the people who have been playing. We have had people out, we have had to play one or two of the kids, which has been a real positive for the club.

“This is why the mentality of this football club is important – not necessarily when we are winning every week, but when we are losing.

“I think that will put us in a position where we can start to become successful. They are the important times.”