LOAN signings Dan Rowe and Akil Wright can both have a big part to play for Barrow AFC after signing deals until the end of the season.

Rowe arrived from Wycombe Wanderers for a second spell at Holker Street on Friday, having seen a previous loan period cut short by a hamstring injury after just three games last season.

Wright has been with the Bluebirds since October, with manager Paul Cox having now agreed a new deal for the 20-year-old Fleetwood Town midfielder to stay with Barrow for the remainder of the campaign.

Both men featured in Saturday’s 2-0 FA Cup third-round defeat to Rochdale, with Rowe playing the first 71 minutes before being replaced by Wright, who was making his 13th appearance of the season for Barrow.

Cox knows he threw Rowe, who made 15 appearances for the Chairboys this season before his loan move, in at the deep end against Dale, but expects him to show his worth over the coming months.

He said: “He’s an excellent addition to the squad. I chucked him in at the deep-end, which was a bit harsh on Akil, but that’s got him 60 or 70 minutes now in a very competitive game.

“We need people like Rowey, people like Akil, who are ready to bust a gut to take us to another level.

“I thought he affected the game very well, but he looked tired on what was a heavy pitch and heavy conditions.”

He added: “He has a huge role to play. He played something like the first 10 or 15 games of the season in League Two in central midfield. He probably needs to get up to scratch with his match sharpness, but having had him last year – apart from tearing his hamstring – I thought he was excellent for us.

“It was probably hard to judge him on Saturday. They had the three in there against us, and it was a game that seemed to drift away from us after they scored their first. But we know we’ve got a very good player who I think will have a positive effect for us going forward.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy to have extended my loan with <a href="https://twitter.com/BarrowAFC">@BarrowAFC</a> until the end of the season, looking forward to the next couple of months ahead 👍</p>— Akil Wright (@akilwright10) <a href="https://twitter.com/akilwright10/status/818482756019687424">January 9, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

As for Wright, Cox realises dropping him to the bench in order to start Rowe against Rochdale may have riled the former Ilkeston FC man.

But the Barrow boss is looking for a positive reaction, like he saw with a string display on Saturday, and said: “I’ve probably angered Akil with what I did on Saturday. I’m hoping I’ll have affected him in a positive way. You on the way he came on, I thought he was a really positive and driving influence for us.

“Akil needs to take that one on the chin, come back at me in the right way and cement a place in the side.

“If he comes on and does what he did on Saturday, then he could cement himself in a League Two side, even a League One side. We’ve got to get more consistency out of him, we’ve got to get him affecting the game with the ball, but more importantly without the ball. I want to drag that consistency out of him, because I know there is one hell of a footballer in there, we just need to get him to be a little more consistent.”

Rowe and Wright may not be the last players penning deals at Holker Street this month, with Cox adding: “We’re going to need legs, we’re going to need a desire. Places are going to be up for grabs left, right and centre, and I’ve said to the players that how they react to Saturday’s result will have a bearing on the number of players, which players, and in what positions, I bring in during the January window.”