IAN Evatt expects plenty more to come from Lewis Hardcastle after being pleased with how quickly the new signing has settled into life with the club.

The midfielder made his first appearance for the Bluebirds as a late substitute in last Satuday’s 1-1 draw at home to Bromley, having only completed his loan move from Blackburn Rovers the day before.

But although he has faced a whirlwind start, Hardcastle has quickly adapted to his new surroundings and Barrow manager Evatt is in no doubt he will prove to be an asset to the team.

“He’s settled in really well, he’s a very good player and a talented footballer,” said Evatt.

“He can handle the ball really well, likes to be in possession and he’s our kind of player. Hopefully we can see more of him in the next couple of weeks.

“We’ve brought him in to affect the team and we think he improves us, so he’ll be coming in to certainly compete for a certain position.”

Rovers under-23 captain Hardcastle is the latest loan player Evatt has recruited from the youth set-up of a Football League club along with current team-mates Kyle Jameson, Luke Burgess and Rhys Norrington-Davies.

Tyler Smith made a big impact too before being recalled by Sheffield United and sent out on loan to Doncaster Rovers, and Evatt is pleased to see his contacts coming up trumps.

“I’ve got quite a good network, especially in the under-23s department,” said Evatt.

“I think we’ve utilised that quite well this year with the likes of Tyler Smith, (Rhys) Norrington-Davies, and hopefully he (Hardcastle) can come in and have the same impact they’ve had.”

Hardcastle has joined the Bluebirds on an initial one-month loan period, with the option to extend it for the rest of the campaign if that suits all parties.

“We can have a look at him, he can have a look at us and if it’s something we both want to do, we can extend it until the end of the season,” added Evatt.