With eight league fixtures to come in August, Barrow AFC won't exactly be eased back into action when the 2019/20 National League season begins next month, but manager Ian Evatt is excited about the games that have been thrown up.

On paper, some of matches look very tough, with their first three of them coming against teams who finished in the play-offs last season.

There is also a home game against recently-relegated Yeovil Town - which will now kick off at 5:20pm on August 17 as it is being shown live by BT Sport - to come before a trip to Evatt's former club Chesterfield.

However, given how well the Bluebirds tended to perform against teams of that stature during the previous campaign, it's perhaps understandable that Evatt can't wait for those games to come along.

He said: "I think Wrexham is one of the better games we could have hoped for, really.

"Obviously, we would have liked to have started at home, but Wrexham away with a lovely big stadium and a well-supported club with a lovely pitch will suit us down to the ground, as we showed last year.

"It's a great opportunity, I think, the first month. There are some difficult fixtures in there, but some exciting ones from our point of view where we can go an play the way we play and try and hurt the opposition and set our stall out for the season."

While away matches against the likes of Wrexham, Chesterfield and Notts County are ones that stand out, another was the one at Dagenham & Redbridge, with Barrow curiously being asked to travel to East London on Tuesday, October 29.

Evatt said: "Obviously, it's not ideal to have to go on a Tuesday night that far, but it is what it is and you have to get on with it.

"We'll prepare as best we can when we go there and try and get the best result. We have to travel to a lot of places the length and breadth of the country, so Dagenham is no different."

Evatt has had his players back for pre-season training this week and there is a new face among them in 19-year-old attacking midfielder Oliver Greaves, who signed on loan for the season from Sheffield United on Monday.

Evatt said: "We have to have a bit of diversity all over the pitch, but especially in midfield.

"We needed someone who can probably unlock the door a bit more, someone who has that moment of brilliance, that moment of creativity that can play a pass or score from 25 yards that can score out of nothing or create out of nothing.

"Oli is that type - he's very highly thought of by Sheffield United, he's been earmarked as one of the brightest hopes for their first team and they're now a Premier League club, so he's a great acquisition."