WHEN the sun shines down on Hopwood Hall – and the northern English climate ensures this is far from always the case – the rolling expanses of green fields can give one a misleading sense of peace and relaxation.

It does not take long for that feeling to evaporate in the mid-summer air.

In the distance comes the sight of footballers, travelling in a pack, four abreast, five deep, slogging it out as they run across that luscious green grass preparing themselves for what lies ahead.

For Barrow AFC, that is nine months of hard graft in the National League and, on this particular July day, the prospect of another hard-working pre-season training session under Paul Cox.

Cox stands there watching as they run, stop, stretch, run again, making full use of the complex of football pitches that are the training base once more for the Bluebirds, the grass a blessed change from their confinement to 3G pitches at their previous Lancaster University home.

The players are certainly happy with their surroundings – even if the workload they have been put through this pre-season by Cox and assistant Garry Simpson does not always allow them to appreciate it.

The furthest any of them have travelled is a couple of hours – Lindon Meikle making the journey up from Nottingham in a car as petite as the man himself – and the location just a few minutes from the M62 means most are far closer than that.

Convenience of access was one of the main factors in the move back to Hopwood, where youth teams from the college and elsewhere train on adjacent pitches, though it does not lack when it comes to facilities.

The players have arrived half-an-hour earlier and already taken advantage of the well-equipped pavilion where Cox and Simpson will later in the season run through video analysis sessions, now they have walked up to the pitches and are already in the thick of it.

The height of the squad when they all stand together like this is one of the first things you notice – Simpson looks a comparative dwarf standing next to most them, with Liam Hughes, Richie Bennett and Moussa Diarra among the biggest of the giants.

The other thing quickly apparent is that this is a squad – even with a handful of triallists in their midst at this point, players like Emile Sinclair and Timmy Raheem, who have since moved on elsewhere – who have bonded quickly and have a strong rapport.

There are jokes, jibes, laughter – I abhor the word ‘banter’ and all of its recent connotations, but I dare say many would use it here – amid the stretching and warming up. Cox is happy to join in, naming training squad captains based on who is the best looking.

That is not to say there is not a solid work ethic and a seriousness of preparation for what is to come. No-one slacks off during the warm-up exercises.

When you ask Cox what his pre-season ethos is, he is clear it stands in both assessing the physical and mental toughness of his men.

“I’m probably a little bit different to a lot of people,” he says.

“I know there are a lot of people out there who will just get the players in to get them physically fit. For me, that’s very easy. I’m a teacher of sports science anyway, so all that is very easy.

“I’m more intrigued and more concerned about our mental strength and how we adapt to different situations. The boys have been put in a few different scenarios in terms of the training, where I have asked them questions not just physically but mentally. They’ve impressed me with their ability to finish the job.”

Goalkeeping duo Joel Dixon and Andy Coughlin – then on trial, but since made a fully signed-up member of the squad – work by themselves in their specific routines. Cox promises a new ‘one-armed goalkeeping coach’ will be arriving soon.

The rest are hard at it with running, turning exercises, then movement, passing and closing down are the order of the day as things progress quickly.

Cox has said closing down has been a key feature of his pre-season for all players across the board and it is certainly the case here as, split into three teams, they try to complete as many passes as they can before the opposition take the ball.

At first things are slow – they struggle to get above 15 and Cox laments that everything will be fine all season as long as they are always tackling and never have the ball – but a quick rollocking from the boss, who is not afraid to assert himself, and a dash off in an extra running exercise has them back on point.

With swallows darting from above the trees and down towards the grass where the ball is stroked effortlessly from one man to another, they get into a routine and soon there are more than 30 passes being put together on a string of occasions.

At one point Cox mentions Tiananmen Square – the context is missed, but the manager soon realises the blank looks he is receiving from several players indicate the meaning is lost on them. He worries at how young they are compared to his 44 years.

Cox is very much the leader of all the activities, hands-on as both coach and manager, with Simpson there to back him up and physio Sean Riley ready to deal with any niggles which pop up. They do on this day, with Meikle feeling the calf which has caused him issues all pre-season again. It is an issue which will keep him out of the next few matches.

Soon the players – goalkeepers and outfield men alike – are back together, with Cox keeping them in the same teams as before and involving them in a game where he wants them all to shoot as often as possible whenever the chance arises. It is something he has been looking for since taking over at Holker Street, a sharper cutting edge at both ends of the park and the drive to score more goals.

“I’m not bothered about you making mistakes,” says Cox. “As long as they are honest mistakes.”

Alex-Ray Harvey gets the message. He fires in an absolute screamer from 20 yards – anyone who saw his effort shake the woodwork against Carlisle will know just the kind of effort described. This one was on target and Coughlin could do nothing about it.

The game goes on for a good amount of time before the warm-down begins. Despite the big effort being put in, there are still smiles and the players are obviously enjoying getting themselves in shape and ready for the campaign to come.

There has been a lot of talk among the players and the coaching staff about the way the players have come together so quickly. The evidence of this day of training backs that up entirely.

The clouds may have gathered by the time the AFC squad head home, but there overriding feeling is one of positivity about what lies ahead and what they can achieve.

Days like these in July may well prove all the more important come days in April when bigger matters are decided.