BOSS Paul Cox believes his side are getting better and better after seeing Barrow leap firmly into the National League promotion picture with a win at top-of-the-table Lincoln, writes ALAN JOHNSON.

In-form strike duo Richie Bennett and Byron Harrison were in the thick of it again, with a goal apiece – their fifth and sixth of the season respectively – enough to send AFC up to fourth.

“There’s an inner belief growing within this group of players. Yes there’s loads to improve on, but we’re heading in the right direction,” enthused Cox after the game – AFC’s sixth unbeaten.

“I’m over the moon with the performance today and I thought we deserved the result – we looked proactive in trying to attack Lincoln.

“The players are understanding what I want from them, and what they want from each other.

“Our club is in a building process. We want to be up there at the top and there’s a lot to do still, but we’re creating that belief that we can now compete with the massive clubs in this division, such as the Lincolns, Tranmeres and Wrexhams.

“Its about laying down an infrastructure so that everyone at the football club and in the town of Barrow all believe too.”

Cox, who has an excellent managerial record against the Imps, knew what tactics to employ in order to give his side the best chance of overcoming the division’s top scorers.

“It had to be a 4-4-2 today. We knew that if we changed it and looked defensive it would just invite pressure on from a very strong Lincoln side, so we came out to attack,” he added. “There was nothing else in our thought process other than to try and score goals.”

You would be forgiven for thinking that, with seven minutes of injury time away from home and a one-goal advatange, Barrow would have been hanging on for dear life at the end.

But it was a case of quite the contrary, with Cox’s men seeing out the game with relative ease nullyfying the goalscoring threat of former target Matt Rhead.

“Matt’s a colossus of a man and that shows in the number of goals he has scored here,” said Cox, who tried in January and again in the summer to land the front-man.

“Our organisation and structure was excellent today though, and defensively I can’t really recall Joel (Dixon) having many shots to save. Against a side like Lincoln on their own ground we have to be pleased with that.”