MICKY Moore insists tonight's match is about much more than the return of Paul Cox to Barrow AFC.

The interim Bluebirds manager is set to sit down with managing director Andrew Casson before the end of the week, and knows results against Guiseley this evening and Torquay United on Saturday will be a big factor in where those discussions go.

Moore has made no secret of his desire to land the AFC job on a permanent basis, and has been given time to prove himself both worthy and capable of the post.

There have been positive signs in the win over Boreham Wood and even in the 1-0 defeat against Tranmere on Saturday, when a goal deep into injury time cost Barrow what would have been a well-earned point.

But he also knows the true measure of any team is results.

Moore has one win, one draw and two defeats from his four games in temporary charge – albeit the first two were with little notice and only a couple of hours in charge of training behind him.

Results against the National League's bottom two sides – Guiseley sit three points above winless Torquay, and only four behind a Barrow team sitting precariously only a place above the relegation zone – are therefore key for Moore and his team, with the manager not allowing himself to be distracted by off-field goings-on as he focuses on matters on the pitch.

“Andrew has made a statement in terms of where the club is at,” said Moore, after Casson indicated last week that the club would give him the Tranmere game and the two matches this week before a decision was made on his tenure. “My focus right now is on Guiseley (7.45pm kick-off).

“I’m really proud of the two performances I have been given against Boreham Wood and Tranmere – really proud of the lads in terms of their performances.

“Have we got what we deserve? No. I look at the four games I have had up until now, and I’ve picked up four points. We talk about that little bit of luck, and it’s hard at the moment, because I don’t think we’ve got what we deserved.”

Moore feels he has started to have an impact on the way Barrow play over the past two matches – the 2-1 home win against Boreham Wood and the weekend defeat to Tranmere.

He added: “If you look at the last two performances, I think the process in terms of how we want to play, what we want to do, how we want to gain results, I think you can see that.

“I think there are a lot of positives in there, I genuinely do, but ultimately you’ve got to win games of football.

“On Saturday, we came away and we lost 1-0, but in my humble opinion I think we showed that we can affect this league. We took a very good side, limited them – I watched their last four or five games and, trust me, they were creating a lot of chances – to very few chances, but they got their little bit of luck that they haven’t had in the last couple of games.”

As for the return of Cox just three weeks after his shock resignation as manager, Moore played down the significance.

The pair worked together for less than two months at Holker Street, with Moore having been appointed as Cox's assistant at the start of July, but have known each other for years, having guided Mansfield Town to the Conference title together.

It will be a quick reunion, but Moore sees it as being no more significant a game just because his former boss will be in the opposition dug-out.

“It’s not going to be a case of me against Paul,” he said. “It’s just another game of football. He’s moved on to pastures new; I wish him all the best after Tuesday.

“We as a football club, we move on with whoever is at the helm, whether it is me in the long-term or someone else. This football club will move on, Paul Cox will move on, and this is a game we go into which we will go and attack and try to get three points.”