If anybody associated with this club had ambitions of a quiet summer of relaxing and looking back on a hectic but productive season, the first week of May has quickly dismissed them.

The ground is a hive of activity with demolition work and various other projects all ongoing.

Several of the directors and staff are making a second home of the office – by myself, I’ll have comfortably recorded more than 30 hours at the ground over the Bank Holiday weekend.

None of this could be achieved if you didn’t enjoy it. The work isn’t without challenges and distractions, but on the whole the team are looking ahead to pre-season, to the start of the next league campaign, and wanting to ensure that the stadium is in the best possible condition to face the season ahead.

We’re all conscious that for many fans, particularly those living away from Barrow, what exactly is going on over the summer is a source of debate and rumour.

Chairman Paul Hornby intends to put a statement out in the next few days to give an overview of some of the bigger items that are on the ‘to do list’ and what changes we can expect both for the first game of pre-season and beyond.

Being stopped and asked about the club is a common event now, and everybody I speak to appreciates that there has to be a time and cost implication to everything we’re doing.

Both of these commodities have to be carefully managed at the club this summer if we’re going to be able to provide manager Ian Evatt with a competitive budget and face up to financial challenges ahead of us as a club.

However, the owners are backing up their words with their own time and their own money to try to make a reality of what we all want to see happen; Barrow AFC self-sufficient and sustainable for this town and community.

Historically, this ambition has eluded successive ownerships, but there is a sense that this time has to be different. We have a consortium of passionate local owners at the centre of this club, prepared to help us, underpinned by the wider fan base via the Bluebirds Trust and their stake.

This summer and the coming years will not be without challenges to overcome but together I believe that we can build something special.

*In the brief time I’ve had my role as a director at Barrow AFC, I’ve already starting keeping strange hours and seeing even stranger things.

But however long I stay in this role, I’m not certain Sunday evening will ever be topped.

As the junior teams completed their finals and headed for home, a blue figure emerged from the tunnel for late night training.

Club mascot Bluey the Bluebird has signed up for the supporters’ K2B team and will be taking on the full 40-mile course in support of our chosen charities: The Bluebirds Trust, Mind in Furness and The Brain Tumour Charity.

After a few laps of the hallowed turf, our mascot commenced shuttle runs in the penalty area at The Steelworks End, finishing by running up and down the Popular Side Terrace “Rocky style” – though perhaps more Barrovian Bluebird than Italian Stallion.

Bluey can be sponsored online or in the club shop as he takes on his greatest challenge, and he has asked me to pass on thanks in advance for any support. On an entirely unrelated note, I’d like to thank Chris Altree for being brave enough to allow Bluey to take part.

*One of the great success stories of recent years has been the community arm of the football club, now led by Craig Rutherford.

Not content, along with Tony Callister, in coaching our all- conquering under 21s, Craig heads up Barrow AFC Community Trust.

This company helps social and economic development of individuals and groups in Furness by supporting health, social inclusion and emotional resilience through sport.This year, the Bluebirds Trust were delighted to provide Craig with half of the proceeds of our half time raffle, which he put to use in helping with a project in central Barrow.

If you visit the club website, you will see children from Greengate Junior School talking about the experience.

Football is about working together and community but it is also about dreams and striving to achieve them. It’s great that projects like these encourage young people to gain confidence. There are excellent examples of this throughout the country and in the Community Trust we have such an organisation here working in Barrow.