Barrow AFC boss Phil Brown says his experienced campaigners in the squad must stand up and lead the Bluebirds to safety.

Brown believes the “spine” of his team, which includes professionals with hundreds of appearances under their belts, is going to be crucial.

Barrow have seven games left to secure their League Two status, starting with Saturday’s trip to Crawley Town.

The manager has seen his side beaten by Leyton Orient and Port Vale in his first two games in charge.

He said his team have done good things in both fixtures, but game management across the full 90 minutes is essential. “We’ve got a group of players that are willing, they’re just lacking guidance when it comes to those pressurised moments on the field of play,” the Barrow boss said.

“You’re looking for your leadership qualities, your captain to stand up, your senior pros, your bigger players to stand up, because there’s a few young lads out there as well.

“At the end of the day, we ran a very good team, who will be close to automatic promotion, very close. We gave them a run for their money, and it was only a late winner that cost us.

“That’s going to be the case between now and the end of the season – we’re going run teams close but you’ve got to have the proverbials to stand up to moments in the final stages of games.”

A late goal cost AFC against Port Vale at the Dunes Hotel Stadium last weekend, and Brown said it highlighted the need to do the basics well.

He added: “That’s something we’ve been working on – people’s basics are so important. If you’ve got bad basics you’ll be a bad player.

“If you’ve got good basics, because you’ve been brought up the right way, educated the right way, served your apprenticeship well under good coaches and have those basics in place, you’ve got a chance in the game.

“It’s something we’re trying to squeeze out of them.”