BARROW AFC manager Pete Wild expressed his delight for the work rate of his side in their opening pre-season win away to FC United of Manchester.

The Bluebirds secured a 2-0 win courtesy of two late second-half goals from wing-back Tyrell Warren.

With much-needed game time the priority after the summer hiatus, Wild completely rotated his squad at the start of each half.

Warren's volley at the back post broke the deadlock in the 78th minute. 

And just like London buses, Warren scored his second four minutes from time by guiding the ball into the bottom corner from Sam Foley’s cut back to the edge of the area.

“I’m really pleased with the performance,” Wild told the club website.

"Most of our work over the last nine days has been about getting physical distance into the lads. Every player had a metric to hit today, and they’ve all hit their targets and got through without any injuries.

“I thought out of possession we turned the ball over well and our block was good. We’ve created a lot of chances and set pieces.

“You wouldn’t have had Ty on the coupon to score two goals, but our wing backs are crucial to how we play. Because of the 3-5-2, we want our wingbacks to be coming in at the far post and he’s done that twice. They were two really good finishes.”

The Barrow manager was also full of praise for their opponents – who they will be sharing training facilities with next season.

He added: “I was really impressed with how they tried to move the football. It gave us a nice problem to solve.

“Hopefully it’s the start of a really good relationship with FC United. I can’t speak highly enough of what they’ve done for us.”

Barrow’s captain Niall Canavan played 45 minutes in the second half and is pleased with the way pre-season has started for the Bluebirds.

“The lads are all blending really well,” he said. "We’ve had time training but not on the pitch together.

“It’s all about building relationships and making sure you try to understand each other’s games so when the season starts there is no miscommunication, everyone is ready to go, and we can hit the ground running.”

Barrow head to Holker Old Boys AFC for their next pre-season match on July 11 at 7.45pm.