On-loan striker Kyle McFarlane wishes Barrow AFC had a quicker opportunity to put their disappointments from last weekend behind them.

McFarlane is going to have to wait for his second appearance for the Bluebirds, after his debut for them last Saturday ended in a 2-0 defeat at Havant & Waterlooville.

That is down to AFC already being out of the FA Trophy, which gives them a free weekend as the second round of that competition takes place without them.

If there is one positive about that for the 22-year-old, who signed on a one-month loan from Birmingham City last week, is that it gives him time to properly bed in at his new club ahead of his home debut against FC Halifax Town next Saturday.

McFarlane said: “The most disappointing thing about it was that there isn’t a game to bounce back in straight away.

“We’ll work hard in training and we’ll go again. Obviously, it’s a long wait, so it’s going be a bit sour for quite a while but come the next game we’ll be ready.

“The good news is that I’ll be getting to know the boys a lot more by training with them and being around them.

“They’re a good set of lads, who have made me feel very welcome already, so it’s nice to feel that straight away.

“It’s now just about getting to know what they’re like, how they play and trying to link that with how I play and putting the styles together.”

McFarlane has spoken of how keen is to show during his loan spell at Holker Street that he is able to handle the step up to senior football, having done well in Birmingham’s under-23 team this season, only to find first-team opportunities hard to come by at St Andrews.

He is also hoping to have a similar impact to former Bluebird Tyler Smith, who scored 11 goals during his loan from Sheffield United in the first half of the season and has since earned a crack at League One with Doncaster Rovers.

McFarlane said: “If I can do well here and go back to Birmingham having shown I can do well at this level, then we’ll see what happens.

“For me now, though, it’s just about getting my head down and getting down to work.

“I’ve played for half a year in the under-23s and done really well, it’s time to do that somewhere else and move forward from there.”