Manager Ian Evatt is delighted with how Barrow AFC’s summer recruitment is progressing after getting two new players into the club during this week.

Evatt is looking to create competition across every position over the next few months and he certainly has that at right-back now after Thursday’s capture of Bradley Barry.

The former Chesterfield man’s arrival at Holker Street came just a day after young striker Morgan Penfold became the first new signing of the summer, following his recent release from Peterborough United.

Given he only inherited six players when he took charge last year, it’s not surprising Evatt is feeling optimistic, with most of his key players from last season also agreeing new contracts in the last month.

Evatt said: “It’s brilliant, the club are backing me 100 per cent as to what I need.

“Obviously, we have a budget and we’re not flashing cash around like some clubs do in this division.

“We are maintaining our responsibility to be sustainable, so we’re getting good young footballers and assets on the football pitch, which is great, and it will also improve us as a squad and team.

“I’m very happy with what we’ve been able to do with the players we’ve retained and the ones we’re signing and obviously we’re going to be adding to that.

“We’re probably going to need another five or six, but they will be coming on board. We’ve got targets in all areas that we need to strengthen and we’ll keep making our way through that list.”

One of those targets is striker Dior Angus, who spent the final three-and-a-half months of the season on loan from Port Vale, from whom he was released earlier in the week.

The 25-year-old scored two goals in 11 appearances during his spell at Holker Street, although the back end of his season was disrupted by a couple of ankle injuries.

A deal to bring Angus in permanently is apparently close to being signed, although it will require him to return to the country first before it is rubber-stamped.

Evatt said: “Dior’s deal is more or less all done – believe it or not, he’s away fishing at the moment so when he’s back from that, hopefully that will be finalised.

“I’ve been meeting other players this week to look at potential new signings, so we’re going really well.

“We’ve identified who we want pretty quickly and it’s just a matter of working hard now to try and get them done.

"We are trying to get most of our serious business done as early as possible, so we can look forward to planning pre-season and working with the squad we've got. We're quite far down in that process."