The weekend had the feel of a fresh start at Barrow Raiders as head coach Paul Crarey and his staff put their squad through its paces for the first day of pre-season at Craven Park.

The hard work starts now for the Raiders, who feel they are in a much better position to get themselves up to speed for the season ahead than this time last year, when they had several injured players having to play catch-up.

Hooker Nathan Mossop was able to take full part after his recovery from shoulder surgery, while Dan Toal likewise following an injection to his knee.

It was also the first chance for new signings Carl Forster, Lee Jewitt and Perry Singleton to train with the squad (Connor Terrill was away with Cumbria under-19s), while ten amateur players took part, with a view to them possibly signing on dual registration terms.

The short-term goal is building up fitness, but the main focus going forward will unquestionably be earning a place back in the Betfred Championship after last season's relegation.

Crarey said: "We've been pretty relaxed during the off-season, as signings have been pretty easy for us - Jamie Dallimore phoned me straight away, wanting to sign despite having Widnes all over him, and Swinton as well.

"We were so close to staying up last year - if it wasn't for the bad luck, we probably would have done, but we were committed right until the very end and nobody can say we didn't give 100 per cent effort, even with busted bodies.

"We're glad to get them back in. Some have gone to probably bigger clubs, some we've let go just because they let us down a little bit last year, so we're happy to be where we're at and start again.

"We've got ten amateurs in - every one of them turned up - so we're looking forward to the challenge. People say they aren't good enough, but Luke Cresswell is good enough and he came in for a year's training with us and then signed and Player of the Year with us last year."

It will all start to feel that bit more real when Barrow's League One fixtures for the 2020 season are revealed on Sunday, with two months to go until the players return for their first pre-season friendly,

Crarey said: "We had a couple missing through work commitments - Jarrad [Stack] is on a course, and things like that, but we're fine overall.

"We're just looking forward to what's going to be a tough competition this year. We know how much money is being spent by other clubs because we've tried to sign players that have gone to them, so there is a lot of money getting spent in this division."