Chairman Paul Hornby has pledged that some of the extra revenue streams made by Barrow AFC due to the improvements at Holker Street will go towards helping manager Ian Evatt build a successful squad.

The facilities at the ground have been given a facelift during the summer, with the Cross Bar and the hospitality boxes both having a new look that is a big improvement on what was there before, not least because windows have been installed in the latter.

The intention is for these facilities to be in use more often on non-matchdays, which is a big part of the board's mission to make AFC a self-sustainable business.

Hornby said: "We keep saying the football side is a by-product of a successful business, but you can't build a successful business overnight.

"Ultimately, this is a football club so if you don't have any success on the pitch no-one is going to come and use your facilities and you're not going to get crowds through the door.

"The two have got to go in harmony - we've got to still be supportive of the manager, the players and the football club, but by the same token, we've acknowledged that we've got to get more revenue through the profit and loss."

Now in his first full season as a co-owner, Hornby was able to give an update on how the substantial debt the current board inherited when it took control last November was continuing to be managed.

He said: "We're in a much better position now because we've worked our way through what was left and we're pretty much getting on our terms now as the season starts with things that we've set in place.

"There's still going to be a big deficit going forward, which we've said we're going to subsidise this year.

"You can't click your fingers and make these things self-sustainable - we needed time and we've said that subsidising will give us time."