After a run that has seen them lose their last four games, in all competitions, Barrow AFC are seeking reinforcements to their playing squad as they attempt to arrest their recent slide in form.

This comes despite the Bluebirds being in the middle of a change of ownership, after former chief Paul Casson announced his departure from the club last week.

Interim chairman Paul Hornby has been talking to potential investors this week, but he’ll also be helping manager Ian Evatt to bring in players who can add some extra steel to his team.

AFC have developed a soft centre in recent weeks, which was made abundantly clear in their 4-2 defeat at Harrogate Town on Tuesday, when they conceded four goals in 16 minutes, as a promising first-half display disintegrated after the break.

Evatt, who has tired of his players’ slumps during games, said: “Obviously we’re going to look very hard and we are looking very hard.

“It’s obviously difficult to move forward with stuff like what’s going on, off the pitch, but that’s settled down now and Paul Hornby has been great, so we need to work very hard on getting this problem solved ASAP.

“It’s clear in my head and it’s clear in everyone else’s heads what is needed and it’s now just about how we go about doing that.”

Evatt does have a couple of players, in centre back Matt Elsdon and striker Rhys Turner, who will add an extra physical presence to Barrow when they return from injuries in the coming weeks.

But the 36-year-old has made his mind up that he needs more individuals who are stronger mentally and wouldn’t allow the sort of collapses seen at Chorley and Harrogate happen.

If players do come in, Evatt will of course have to keep working within his budget, which could mean some members of his squad are set to depart from Holker Street.

“I think it’s only right that we try to wheel and deal,” Evatt said, adding: “We are becoming a soft touch, that’s not nice to say and not nice to see.

“We’ve got to change that pretty quickly, so we’ll be working hard off the pitch to try and make that happen.”

For now, though, Evatt needs the players he currently has to focus on a match at Ebbsfleet United on Saturday that has assumed extra significance, with just a point separating the two sides in the National League.

Evatt said: “It’s a cliché that you make your own luck, but the harder you work the easier things become and we’ve just got to keep working hard to try and solve the problems.”