OLLIE Cook is playing for his footballing future with Barrow AFC – and has not ruled out the possibility of staying at Holker Street.

The 20-year-old defender joined the Bluebirds at the start of February on loan from Premier League Southampton until the end of the season, knowing he needed to impress.

Saints had already told him he would not be retained at St Mary’s Stadium when his contract is up this summer, and so Cook is out to prove himself – and in doing so gain offers of employment for next season.

One of the options he would be interested in is staying with AFC.

Cook has started the five games Barrow have played since his arrival – scattered over a month-and-a-half due to postponements and rearrangements – and has quickly found his feet in the National League.

Having moved up to Manchester to be part of the squad during his three months on board, the 6ft centre-half has no end of thanks to Bluebirds boss Ady Pennock for giving him a chance to shine.

And Cook would seriously consider staying on board with the club should they offer him the chance for next season, as he plans out his future.

“They (Southampton) told me that I have been released unless something happens,” said Cook, who is heading to Maidenhead with the AFC team tomorrow looking to claim three vital points at York Road (3pm kick-off). “This is me trying to prove to everyone else that I’m worth a shot.

“I’m grateful to Ady for having the faith in me and giving me the opportunity to do that. I’ll be forever grateful for that.

“This is me putting myself in the shop window for other people to come and watch, and even for Barrow to think about me for next year as well.”

On the chances of him staying at Barrow, he added: “I’d have to get the offer first of all, and then consider all of my options, sit down with my family and the people who are close to me, talk it through with them about what the best thing for me to do is for my career and all the factors that come into it. But it’s definitely something I would consider.”

Surrey native Cook, whose youth career started at Fulham before he moved to Southampton in 2014, can see his game developing thanks to his time with Barrow.

That was one of the reasons he came to the club, and he has found the style of football and the tactics employed different to those he has been used to at academy level with Saints.

He hopes that will help him going forward, and said: “It’s not going to hurt having this experience. It will teach me how to play against a big target-man, which I’m not used to so much in academy football.

“Normally, everyone plays with a 4-4-2, so you get a big target-man and possibly a smaller striker who is always on the move trying to bring you out of position and run the channels. It’s playing against two different players over 90 minutes, working both of them out and trying to combat what they do.

“That experience will really help. In other leagues, they play with a one, so there’s only one player to work out. Working out two over 90 minutes is going to help me problem-solve that one player.”

He added: “There are some fundamentals that are the same. It’s still played at quite fast pace, it’s just a little bit more physical and probably slightly more end-to-end at times – it’s you attack, we attack, and there is a lot of defending to do, possibly more than I have been used to. But I like defending, so I’m happy with that.

“It’s more physical, and you get some more experienced players – I’m not used to playing against a 30-year-old striker who has been there, done it all, and knows all the little tricks and the movements to throw you off.

“It’s getting your head around them and the different things they do, know how to do, know how to manipulate you. It’s working them out which is different for me.”