Manager Ian Evatt has thanked chairman Paul Hornby for getting the change of ownership at Barrow AFC done and dusted so swiftly.

Not many would have thought that the situation at the top of the club would have been settled within four weeks of former owner Paul Casson announcing his departure from Holker Street.

But with Hornby leading the way, that is exactly what has happened, with the chartered accountant becoming part of the new locally-based consortium that now owns the Bluebirds.

Instead of seeing the changeover drag on, as it so often does at other clubs, AFC’s players and staff can give their full focus to turning around their fortunes on the pitch, having lost their last six matches, in all competitions.

Evatt said: “Obviously, myself as the manager, the players, any Barrow fan or anyone who lives in the town has to pay a massive thank you to Paul Hornby for the effort he’s put in over these last three or four weeks.

“To get the club in the position it’s in now – stable and ready to move forwards – is a huge, huge achievement and he has to be thanked and credited for what he’s done.

“From the football side of things, the best way to thank him and compliment him is by ending this run of results that we’re on by getting a good result on Saturday and start progressing up the table again.”

Evatt hasn’t had the chance to meet any of the three new investors– Tony Shearer, Mark Hetherington and Kristian Wilkes – just yet, admitting that the talks in getting them to the club were nothing to do with him.

The last month, in which AFC have been in transition off the pitch, has unfortunately coincided with their poor run on it, but Evatt refuses to use the change at the top as an excuse, with his side’s next match being away at Aldershot Town on Saturday.

He said: “We need to get ourselves back to where we were about a month ago – it’s really strange but it shows just how a long time it can be in football.

“The last month has been tough – a month ago we were still in the [FA] Cup and everyone was singing our praises and it shows you how quickly things in football can change.

“Myself and my team are working really hard to put things right for the weekend.”