MICKY Moore has called for unity from Barrow AFC players, staff and supporters as he strives to find the winning formula.

Moore takes his Bluebirds side into battle against Leyton Orient tomorrow desperate to end a six-match run without a win and inject some much-needed confidence into his team and fans alike.

Tuesday’s last-gasp 1-0 defeat at Harlepool saw AFC slide to within one point and one place of the National League’s bottom four, and Moore knows the pressure is building with every game.

That result – Barrow’s fourth defeat in six since they beat Boreham Wood at Holker Street on September 2 – left some supporters again questioning whether Moore was the right man to replace Paul Cox in the hot-seat.

On the flip side of the coin, many fans believe Moore deserves a lot more time in the dug-out as he tries to instil his beliefs and preferred style of play on the training ground, while also dealing with a lengthy injury list in what is his first managerial appointment at this level.

The 44-year-old from Birmingham is all too aware that football is a results business, but he is optimistic his players will turn the club’s fortunes around.

“For me personally, I have got to believe in the process that I am putting in place,” said Moore.

“If you look at it in terms of results and how disappointing they have been, I’m not going to hide away from that, and no-one is hurting more than me and the players.

“But I also look at it in terms of the football we are playing which I think is good. I genuinely believe that.

“We are creating lots of chances. We just need to get that rub of the green and we need a bit of luck.

“We need something to go in off someone’s backside or a deflection just to kick-start us.

“I think the supporters who travelled on Tuesday were fantastic. They sang from start to finish and I anticipate that, however disappointed they were with the result, they didn’t question the performance and the amount of chances we had to win the game.

“I look at the five defeats we’ve had. Fylde away we lost 1-0, but we had two or three unbelievable opportunities to go 1-0 in front and their goalkeeper was man of the match.

“Tranmere away, we lost 1-0. They scored in the last minute after Byron Harrison had a perfectly good goal ruled out.

“We lost 3-2 at Sutton and I think that was the worst 90 minutes I have had as a manager. I don’t think we played well, I’ll be honest with you.

“Against Maidstone, Byron (Harrison) has had a great opportunity to go 1-0 in front, and that first goal is so important for a team who are suffering with a lack of confidence. And Tuesday night (at Hartlepool), we had three or four unbelievable chances to go 1-0 in front and we lose 1-0. So all in all, I think we are really close to turning it round.”

Moore hopes Barrow can follow the example of Tranmere, a team who were struggling at the wrong end of the table but have risen into mid-table after back-to-back wins – 1-0 at Bromley followed by a 2-1 midweek home win over AFC’s opponents tomorrow, Leyton Orient.

“Look at Tranmere,” he said. “All of a sudden they have won two and they’ve gone up the table.

“As a group of players and manager, and as a club and a set of supporters, we need to believe in the process that we are going through.

“We are playing some good football. Yes, the results are not where we want them to be, and I feel the pain myself. It’s not for that want of trying and if weren’t creating chances I would understand the frustration even more.

“But I think even the most ardent Barrow supporter would be honest enough to say we are playing better football and we are creating chances, but we just can’t score.

“I understand that, and that’s why we’ve got to believe in our players that we will start scoring goals and getting results.”