Barrow AFC boss Mark Cooper has revealed the club have knocked back an offer for one of their key players.

The Bluebirds boss did not reveal which player had been the subject of an approach.

But he said Barrow needed to be on guard to move again in the market if further serious interest materialises for any of their first-team players.

“We’ve had one bid for a player that we’ve turned down, which was short of our valuation,” Cooper said.

“You’ve got to be on your toes. You hear whispers, and bits and pieces. There’s always the chance somebody comes in and tries to pinch or unsettle your better players.

“You always have to have something up your sleeve if that happens.

“At the moment I’m happy with the squad we’ve got for the rest of the season, on the proviso we don’t lose any of the key players.”

Cooper has made three January loan signings so far in the form of Will Harris, Anthony Glennon and Jacob Wakeling.

Loan strikers Harris and Wakeling will be hoping to be involved for the first time in tomorrow’s clash with Colchester.

Cooper says he is happy with the business he has done and reckons the additions are of the right calibre.

“I’m pleased with what we’ve done,” he said.

“I’ve spoken all along about the type of player I wanted – I wanted people who were hungry and desperate to play for the club, and play minutes, and that’s what we’ve got.

“The Under-23 market is a dangerous pool to fish in. I watch some games and there’s never a tackle, never anyone running forward, it’s all possession football to feet and no penetration. It’s sometimes like a testimonial game.

"You’re trying to fish out the ones who have got that criteria that they want to run, they want contact, they want to really ask questions of defenders if they’re forwards, or if they’re midfield players they want to run forward and want to tackle.”

Cooper says his latest addition, Leicester frontman Wakeling, fits the bill in those respects.

“He’s got energy, pace and can score goals, so he wants to get shots off,” Cooper said.

“He’ll work hard. The one thing the Barrow fans want is passion and energy, commitment, and he’ll give them that.

“But he can also score. Both he and Harris can score. There’s no guarantee, but they’ve got a history of scoring goals whatever level it’s been at, and that’s what we need.”

Cooper, meanwhile, says there remains the possibility of more players heading out on loan before the transfer deadline.

He added: “There’ll be some on the fringe that maybe have not played as much, that may need or want to get some games.

“There are three or four players there that need to play and we’ve made that known. As of yet we’ve not had as many enquiries for the ones we need to get games.”