BARROW AFC are open to bringing in more experienced summer signings when their new manager is in place.

So far since the end of last season, the Bluebirds have signed four players up to contracts at Holker Street.

Nathan Waterston spent the final two months of the 2017/18 campaign with AFC, having moved to his hometown club from Workington, while Josh Granite, Astley Mulholland and Jack Hindle have all arrived from teams in the Northern Premier League structure.

Mulholland has past experience in the National League with Altrincham, but the remaining recruits will be stepping into the unknown.

AFC managing director Andrew Casson says they fit in with the desire to bring in players who are looking to make the step up and have something to prove, following the successful template of the likes of Jordan Williams, Richie Bennett and Nick Anderton, who all left Barrow after securing moves to the Football League.

More of the same can be expected then Barrow announce their new manager, but Casson said there was also the chance to add those experienced heads who have been vital in the recent past at the club – such as Danny Livesey and Simon Grand – though there is a certain level of wariness after seeing some such signings fail to make an impact.

“We don’t want to change too much, because if you eliminate last season and the mistakes we made in recruitment, a lot of the past success we have had has been in finding similar guys,” said Casson.

“These are guys who have gone on to better things, guys who have moved up in the world, who are hungry to test themselves at higher levels, who have maybe a chip on their shoulder.

“It’s a whole new way of doing things, it refocusing on what we believe is right – building a team that people can watch and get behind and support because they are working hard.”

Asked if there could still be more former Football League and experienced National League players brought in this summer, Casson said: “We’re not opposed to that.

“At the end of the day, we’re looking for attitude and work ethic more than anything else. I think we made a mistake in the past by assuming that just because a player has played in the Football League, they’ll be a cut above at this level – that’s not necessarily true.

“The budget means that there won’t be as many of those guys this year as there were last year, but if there is value for money out there in terms of those guys and we can get a really good guy, a veteran leader who we need, then we would take them in a heartbeat.”

One factor Barrow will be focusing on for their recruitment when the new manager comes in will be the geographic location of players.

Over the past two seasons, the club have brought in a number of players from London and the South – with two of those who were under contract and not transfer-listed after last season, Grant Holt and goalkeeper Steve Arnold, both fitting into that category.

But going forward, Casson – echoing the thoughts of former boss Ady Pennock when he spoke about the potential policy for next season – wants to see a more regional North West focus, although exceptions could be made.

“Number one, it saves you money, because you’re not paying guys to relocate or find accommodation, everything like that,” added Casson. “It’s also easier for them to travel up on a match-day or get to the pick-up points for the overnight games down south.

“We’ve said in the past that we were not going to keep doing those things. It’s been a conscious decision. Unless we see a guy who we think could be the next Jamie Vardy, who happens to be living in London, that’s what we look at.”