PAUL Cox hopes to see positive results from Paul Ogden's appointment as Barrow AFC's head of football operations as soon as possible.

Cox had labelled the appointment of his long-time associate – who had been chief scout for the bluebirds since February last year – as being part of the club's evolution.

A club statement at the weekend said Ogden has been placed in charge of 'player evaluation and squad planning, player acquisition and player development'.

Cox, who did not know about the appointment before it was made following a meeting between Ogden, AFC owner Paul Casson and managing director Andrew Casson, has already told Ogden what he wants to develop the squad.

Now, with three weeks left until the transfer window closes, he is looking forward to seeing what the results are.

Asked if it was a part of his role he glad to be putting to one side to allow him to concentrate on first-team affairs, he said: “I'm always going to have the final say on players coming in. Paul has already spoken to me and asked me what I wanted.

“After Saturday's game, the disappointment of losing the game, I had an understanding of what was needed now for us to evolve. This league won't give us any leeway – we've got to attack it, we've got to make good decisions, quick decisions, and we've got to evolve into the blueprint I have set Paul Ogden very quickly.

“We're all clear. My chats with Paul have been very clear and positive, and I'll be looking forward to the next three weeks to look at the squad evolving and the quality of players coming in.”

Asked further if the appointment had surprised him, Cox added: “I spoke to Paul on the Sunday. I didn't know about the meeting, I'm not going to tell any lies.

“I go back with Paul 15 years-plus, and I think anything Paul Ogden would do would be a positive for myself and a positive for the football club.

“I'm embracing it and I'm looking forward to the next three weeks before the deadline and seeing how positive the appointment is. By that, I mean improving the squad with quality – there might be some ins, there might be some outs – because the main thing is to keep the club going forward and improving on the position of last year. I think that's key.”

With Ogden looking to bring in the players to meet Cox's requirements, the manager hopes it will give him the necessary time to work with the squad he already has and get them up and running in search of the first win of the National League campaign.

Woking come to Holker Street on Saturday following Tuesday's 0-0 draw against Halifax, and Cox can see positive effects coming up from the new structure.

“I think Paul's appointment will have a positive effect on the football club,” he said. “What I mean by that, I've had chats with the chairman today and he has told me about the talks with Paul; I've had talks with Paul in the last 24, 48 hours, and we're looking to improve the squad.

“At the minute, I've got a really, really tough job to do galvanising these players, improving these players. A lot of my strength is on the training ground with the players, working mentally and physically with the players.

“The evolution of the infrastructure of the football club is key, and I think it's a positive step for the football club that we have someone now working alongside Andrew, if you look at him being on the business side, somebody in there on the footballing side, so the decision-making becomes even more clear for everybody.”