Manager Ian Evatt has admitted Barrow AFC’s home results are something that needs to be rectified, as they look to bring their recent good away form to Holker Street when they face Dover Athletic on Saturday.

The Bluebirds have only won three times on their own patch since defeating Sutton United on the first weekend of October, which has gone a long way towards preventing them from making a play-off push this season.

They’ve won twice as many league games on the road during that time, while their improvement away from home could be traced back to when they defeated the Whites in September’s reverse fixture.

Under Evatt, AFC have won eight home games this season – twice as many as the previous campaign – but he accepts they haven’t been able to turn their own ground into the fortress he wants it to be.

Evatt said: “We’ve been a mixed bag at home, really, we’ve been consistently inconsistent and it’s something we need to rectify.

“It’s something we’re working hard on and hopefully we can finish off with two very good results and two very good performances at home this season.”

Barrow are set to be backed by a younger crowd again against Dover, with the club allowing supporters under the age of 16 into the ground for free for the third home game running.

Evatt said: “I think we’ve lost a number of fans over the last few years, for whatever reason, and I’ve said before that the dynamic of our fans is, mostly, the wrong side of 40 [years old].

“We have to engage with these youngsters, get them away from watching Premier League football, come down to Barrow, enjoy what they see and get them to support their local team and really buy into what the club is doing at the moment.”

There was a special guest in the away end at the 0-0 draw at Dagenham & Redbridge last Saturday, with Barrow-born Olympic long-distance runner Chris Thompson present.

The 37-year-old was on his stag do and dressed in a full AFC kit and actually led the team out as their mascot before the game, after he had been allowed to take part in the warm-up.

“It was strange, but it’s great that he did it,” Evatt said, adding: “He was a good sport on the day.

“We tried to involve him as much as we could and it was great to see that on his stag do he chose to come and watch us and enjoy himself.

“Hopefully he did that and it’s nice to have these kind of fans that are in the public eye and can really put across the message that the club is going places and heading in the right direction.”