NEW boy Liam Hughes believes he and his fellow Barrow AFC recruits are a statement of intent for the club going forward.

Hughes is one of seven new recruits signed on permanent AFC deals by boss Paul Cox so far this close-season as he looks to push up the National League.

Cox wants to build on last season’s 11th-placed finish in the Conference and has brought in former Cambridge United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder Hughes as one man to help him do that.

Ross Hannah, Richie Bennett, Moussa Diarra, Lindon Meikle, Nick Wilmer-Anderton and Paul Turnbull have also signed on at Holker Street, while Andy Parry – who joined on a temporary deal from Luton earlier in the year – has also penned a contract.

They are added to the likes of goalkeeper Joel Dixon, attacker Jordan Williams and central defender Danny Livesey in the Barrow squad, and Hughes feels the recruits will send out a real message to the rest of the National League.

He said: “You only have to look at the players Barrow have signed and it makes a statement. I’m just looking forward to meeting the lads and getting going.

“It’s the first season where Paul has been able to bring his own players in. There are going to be changes on and off the pitch that a lot of people will see for the better, and I think that everyone has to buy into the project that the manager and the chairman want to do with the football club.

“That’s what the players are bringing as well. They’re buying into that ethos of wanting to move forward.

“You look at the players they have signed and who they have already and it is a growing squad. It’s getting better and better and the addition of Paul and the management staff, the backing the chairman has given and the players they are adding, it’s all looking good for Barrow.

“I’ve played against a few of the lads. I’ve come up against Ross Hannah at Grimsby and Paul Turnbull at Macclesfield, and these are good players at this level.

“You look at them and you think they can go higher. You look through the whole squad – I played against Parry when he was at Luton – and you do your research. Any player coming to a new club, you have to know the players you are going to be playing with and I’ve got a lot of time and respect for all the players at Barrow. I know what they’re capable of and I think there are a lot of good players there.

“A lot of people will look at us as ‘little old Barrow’, but we are going to go about our business and we’ll do our talking on the pitch. With the players we have got, we know we are more than capable of doing so.”

Hughes came up against Barrow several times during his time with Cambridge and knows what to expect from any Bluebirds side.

He feels their geographical position and the passion of the supporters can have a major impact on the progress to be made next season, though he shied away from predicting what the team might be capable of.

“Barrow is in the middle of nowhere and I’ve always found that it is never an easy place to go as a player,” said the 23-year-old father-of-two. “They get good support, the fans get right behind the team and that makes a massive difference and they are always a tough team to play against.

“I know that when Paul has been there I have always kept an eye on the results and they have done well. They grind out results and that’s a trait that all of his teams have – he gets players to the best that they can be and makes his teams hard to beat.

“The question of next season, who knows? It’s a tough league to get out of. There are some fantastic teams and some fantastic players and it just gets better and better.

“It would be unfair of me to say we are going to do this, that and the other. It’s important for us to keep ourselves to ourselves, go about our business in the right way and just do what we are there to do – the best that we can.”

Full-back Neil Ashton has left Barrow AFC for Southport. Ashton had a year remaining on his contract at Holker Street, but was not part of manager Paul Cox’s plans.

He follows Ashley Grimes in making the move to the Sandgrounders, the forward having been in a similar contractual situation to Ashton.

Early-bird season tickets are on sale at Holker Street until Thursday, June 30.

The tickets offer a 10 per cent discount on standard season ticket prices.

The can be purchased from the club shop, or by calling 01229 666010.