BARROW AFC chairman Paul Casson has warned the club’s National League rivals to ‘watch out’ as manager Paul Cox builds his team for next season.

Casson has been pleased with Cox’s recruitment drive during the first six weeks of the close-season, a period which has seen the Bluebirds land the likes of Ross Hannah, from Chester, Nick Wilmer-Anderton, from Preston North End, and Macclesfield captain Paul Turnbull.

The Texas-based businessman has been in regular contact with his first-team boss during that period, and, writing for the Evening Mail, outlines his hopes that the side can build on last season and even exceed expectations of a top-10 finish.

He expects there to be another six signings before the squad is complete, and said: “That final game of the 2015/2016 season seems a long time ago now.

“That squad has been scattered on the wind now as Paul Cox does his best mad scientist act and assembles his 2016/17 team, apparently from the Land of the Giants.

“It will be. I am fairly sure, the tallest team that has ever represented the Bluebirds. The National League is not one for shrinking violets, and a certain physicality is generally required for success.

“The squad is mostly complete, we will probably add five or six more.

“Paul has attempted to add players with the ability to play multiple positions to give us the ability to have a slightly smaller squad with more quality. Liam Hughes, for example, can play all over the park and has even played in goal for Cambridge. He is an excellent athlete.

“Andy Parry also can play any of the back four positions or a holding midfield player.

“It is obvious from the fact that we signed so many this early that we had competition for every player’s signature. Most had been on our radar since the turn of the year and as soon as the season ended the two Pauls (Cox and Ogden) were flying up and down the motorway getting the players over the line.

“We missed on three of our targets including of course Andy Cook. It was a surprise to me that he chose Tranmere, I know that he had at least one other option, so we shall see how in turns out.

“He is a wonderful lad Andy, easy to like, and I would have loved to have kept him.

“It looks like a decent team on paper, young, strong, tall and with a lot of upside. It should have a lot of goals in it, and will be dangerous from set-pieces. We have retained seven from last year (eight if you include Nick Wilmer- Amderton), and so it shouldn’t be a total case of strangers meeting in the dark.

“The pre-season awaits. Like most things Paul Cox does, it wasn’t designed by accident. A bit of a jolly in North Wales is followed by games of increasing difficulty and method of playing, until a final tweaking away at Stalybridge.

“Paul likes to talk about edge and that final one per cent that separates champions from sixth, and I have watched just how hard both he and Gary Simpson work and prepare.

“I think this year I will refrain from any predictions, all I will say is that it feels as though we are ahead of the schedule I have set for the club.

“More gratifying is that it’s a squad loaded with quality and with at least four years at their collective peak. The oldest is Danny Livesey and he’s certainly good for four more years.

“It is hard to play down our collective excitement in anticipation of the release of the schedule. There should be some epic encounters with Tranmere, Forest Green and Eastleigh particularly. Lincoln City might be interesting given our recent history.

“We appear to be eighth-favourites according to the bookies, which is probably about right. If we happen to be eighth at the turn of the year, watch out – Mr Cox has history.”