After a week that has massively raised spirits at Barrow AFC, manager Ian Evatt is hoping his side can round it off with another good showing at struggling Braintree Town tomorrow.

The Bluebirds have picked up four points from their last two games to consign their worrying run of six straight defeats to the past, with their performances more than meriting their recent results.

Having got back to winning ways at Aldershot last Saturday, they backed up that solid display by giving a very good account of themselves on Tuesday night in the goalless draw against Wrexham, a match they could easily have won.

AFC showed they can go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the National League in that game and now they’ll be looking to do the business against the side who prop up the rest in the table.

Evatt said: “I just think it’s about our performance and if we can continue to give that same effort and commitment and desire, that same work rate, we’ll become a very hard team to beat and that’s what I expect.

“The last two games, where everyone was questioning whether we’re too soft or saying we’re a soft touch, we’ve stood up and gone toe-to-toe with two very good teams. Hopefully we can build on that now and progress and go on competing.”

No-one has been calling Evatt’s side a soft touch since he switched to fielding a back three, with the new-look defence ensuring Barrow kept back-to-back clean sheets for the first time this season.

Rather than gifting chances away, the centre-backs have kept Joel Dixon largely untroubled, although the AFC goalkeeper has stood tall on the occasions he has been called upon.

Evatt said: “I’m delighted with how the back three has been going, but there’s still work to be done.

“Obviously, with two clean sheets you can’t ask for much more – I don’t think we’ve conceded that many chances, either.

“I thought we could have been more clinical in the first half against Wrexham because we had the better chances.

“Tyler [Smith] doesn’t normally miss from that kind of range, but he is allowed to miss, he is human.

“It was a great battling performance and the effort was certainly there. I asked them and challenged them to give me that same commitment and same desire they showed at Aldershot and three days later, they did it.

“Hopefully now, we can get our legs right, train really well and look forward to Saturday.”

Evatt has also given his reaction to the FA Trophy draw, after the Bluebirds were given a home tie against fellow National League side FC Halifax Town, which will be played on December 15.

Having crashed out of the FA Cup early, the Trophy gives them a chance to progress to have a good cup run and the prospect of a trip to Wembley means it’s a competition Evatt will be taking seriously.

“Every game is high on the agenda, we try and win every game we play,” he said.

“We’ll be going into that hoping to have a nice cup run because I had the privilege of playing at Wembley four or five times as a player and there’s no better place to play football.

“Hopefully we can have a good run in that and give the fans something to cheer.”