PAUL Cox may have stopped short of totally abandoning Barrow’s play-off hopes but he admitted the focus has already turned to next season.

The Holker Street boss described his side’s display at Bromley this afternoon as “painful to watch” and hinted the top five may have come a season too early.

Cox had just watched his team be outplayed and out-battled by a side with nothing to play for in a 4-1 defeat.

He knew three points at Hayes Lane would have taken their charge to the final day of the season. With Dover and Aldershot meeting on Easter Monday, and with Chris Kinnear’s Whites to visit on the last day, victory would have kept the flame flickering.

But they can surely forget that now, and Cox said: “This was our biggest game of the season and we weren’t good enough, it’s as simple as that.

“The ability to not follow instructions, and maybe the pitch, has not helped us, but the bottom line is that we haven’t performed anywhere near where we needed to.

“We were sloppy in both boxes, and you are never going to give yourself a chance to win a match if you make these mistakes.

“That is as far away from how good we have been this season as you could possibly get.

“In your biggest game of the season, you want players to turn up and have an understanding. We didn’t have as much desire as we needed."

Asked if his side are out of the play-off race, Cox said: “I don’t know to be honest.

“It’s kind of irrelevant to me at the minute. I’m just looking at the next game and looking for players with the mindset to be able to combat tiredness and mental fatigue.

“We now need to look at what is going to be needed to push us on next season. That is not me being defeatist, it is where we are realistically. We need to improve and make this club stronger for next season.

“There has to be a mindset that nothing matters apart from winning, it doesn’t matter how you play as long as you get that result.”

But Barrow could welcome striker Byron Harrison back for the visit of North Ferriby United on Easter Monday.

“It’s possible,” Cox added. “We missed his quality today that’s for sure. The good news is that he is with us next season so fingers crossed we can return to the team and give us a lift.”