PAul Cox believes no-one wants Barrow in the play-offs and none of the National League promotion contenders like his Bluebirds side – but he does not care, writes PAUL TURNER.

Barrow pulled off another big win over one of the division’s title contenders – following recent triumphs against Lincoln and Tranmere – as they completed the double over Dagenham and Redbridge.

A Liam Hughes penalty and Moussa Diarra’s second-half winner sealed three points for AFC and saw the Daggers become the latest victims of a team refusing to give up their play-off dream.

It was another result to send shudders through the spines of teams who will be dreading the prospect of facing the Bluebirds in the end-of-season showdowns.

Cox knows no-one wants Barrow to be there – for whatever reason – but he sees the challenge of taking his side up against all odds as a wonderful one.

“I said after the Aldershot game ( a 2-2 draw last month) , I don’t know what it is about is about us – whether we are seen to be unfashionable, whether if people look at the place and the travelling distances – but you get a funny feeling that no-one wants us where we are,” said Cox.

“I’ve said if we make the play-offs, nobody will want to play us. We’re quite capable of going away from home and getting a result, and we know how to play at our own ground.

“I don’t know what it is, but there are people out there – whether it is because of the distances, whether it is because you look at our ground and it is not a Lincoln or a Tranmere – they don’t want us around here.

“But I love building things. It would be lovely to see this club flourish and the build it, put it in a position where we are not only standing on the shoulders of these supposedly bigger clubs, but we’ve got the environment and the structure to continue for years to come.”

Cox was pleased to see his players keep the dream alive with the 2-1 win over the Daggers, which came despite AFC falling 1-0 behind to a Corey Whitely goal direct from a corner.

The Barrow boss saw the result as ‘massive’ for their prospects, especially as rivals Gateshead, Aldershot and Dover all won.

He said: “It was a massive result for us. Coming into the game, we looked at the fixtures of teams around us, and if you were a betting man you would give them the three points, so it was really important we got points.

“If we had lost, it would have given us that little bit more of a gap.

“This result brings us within six points of Dagenham, with 27 points still to play for. It’s game-on.

“I’m pleased with the boys today – the way we worked off the ball, but more importantly the way we relaxed with the ball.

“I thought we should have been 3-1 up at half-time, I thought we missed some great chances, and when the first goal went in, sometimes the lads would feel as though maybe luck has deserted them again.

“But they showed great character to come back into a big game, and I thought we bossed it, we bossed the game. I thought we should have scored more goals, but I don’t think anyone could doubt that we deserved the three points.”

He added: “You see the first goal, it’s a corner that has evaded everybody and ended up in the top corner. Sometimes you look at body language and you question whether the boys have that little bit in them.

“In some of the games we haven’t won, I don’t think we played particularly badly or deserved to lose or draw. I think Lady Luck has been missing, and it’s very easy to feel sorry for yourself in this game when things don’t go your way.

“But there was tremendous character from the boys. I thought we dominated the game, I thought we deserved to win it, and the lads deserve credit for that.

“It was superb. The most pleasing thing for me was that, especially at home, we have looked a little bit uncouth with the ball.

“Today, we got hold of it, we played the simple pass, and we looked a little bit more relaxed.”