It’s difficult to overstate the historical significance of what we witnessed at Holker Street on Saturday, both on and off the field. Let’s start with the performance of the players, shall we?

To beat a team 7-0 at any level of football is an incredible effort. It’s testament to our quality, of course, that goes without saying.

But at half-time, leading by three goals and a man following Ebbsfleet’s first half dismissal, it would have been very easy for the Bluebirds to switch off and turn their focus to future challenges.

Some would be keen to avoid injury, others to keep fuel in the tank for the remainder of the season, but none of that was evident. We were clinical, ruthless, relentless and utterly dominant in the course of dishing out a merciless footballing masterclass which will have put the division on notice.

Any of our rivals waiting for Barrow to fall away or step aside for more established names to take our place at the summit can keep waiting. Our team is the best in the National League by a country mile.

What we need now is the consistency and the good fortune to see the season out. “That’s been coming,” was Ian Evatt’s assessment outside the tunnel at full time. Ebbsfleet simply had the misfortune of being the first team to be caught in the eye of our perfect storm.

But let’s look beyond the players for a moment. Let’s look at our fifth consecutive attendance of over 2,000, an achievement that we haven’t managed since 1972.

This is a club growing in all directions; growing in ability, growing in confidence, growing in belief that we can get back into the Football League.

Our town and community are sensing it too, which is why we were able to take over a thousand fans to Fylde. It’s why we’re seeing numbers in our own stadium that haven’t been there for almost half a century.

It’s why I have confidence that, through the Bluebirds Trust, we will succeed in playing our part and raising £65,000 to safeguard the progress we’re making and to stand side by side with our fellow owners, the men who, along with Evatt, are ultimately making this dream possible.

But for all of that, it’s still only the first week of January. Titles aren’t won at this stage of the season, yet goal by goal, game by game, week by week, we edge closer to a moment of history which 12 months ago none of us dared to dream of.

* A pitch invasion with a difference took place at the end of our demolition of Ebbsfleet last Saturday.

You may have noticed a flag which was presented on Friday from the FC Koln fan group called DMC, on one of their regular visits to watch our team, home and away.

It’s part of what has become a growing friendship, which started when Barrow AFC fan Stu Nichols began to visit Cologne around eight years ago, and has been enjoyed by many in both countries.

Who could have predicted that one German fan would choose to do a placement in Barrow, rather than London, for three months, or that we would have a representative in the away end at Red Star Belgrade?

Barrovians have developed a taste for currywurst to match the apparent German love of dark fruits cider.

It’s not just Koln that adds an international flavour. Barrow fans also visit clubs such as Borussia Monchengladbach and we have had visitors to Barrow from Italy, Scotland, Norway, Holland and Austria and Holland in the last few years.

It’s all good fun, enjoying the universality of football.

And don’t forget our own exiles around the globe spreading the word. Barrow, if there was ever any doubt, is indeed taking over.

* New Year’s Day saw Barrow record another landmark: our first victory over AFC Fylde.

While our history with Fylde is a relatively recent thing (we only met for the first time in 2014), it became quite personal to many fans because – unlike historical struggles stretching back decades – this one was recent enough that several fans, including myself, had seen every previous competitive fixture against them.

Eight attempts at victory had come and gone with no sign of success.

Last season, we seemed to get closer with two draws which stemmed a five-game losing streak. On Boxing Day this season we added a third draw, giving further rise to the sense that perhaps the bad run could be nearing its end.

And yet, despite these omens, there were still stunned faces and scenes of real emotion when the final whistle blew to mark our first ever victory over the Coasters.

Still, it’s only a game. I’m sure that all at Barrow AFC would happily shake hands with Mr Haythornthwaite, congratulate him on an inspired recent managerial appointment and wish him well in Fylde’s ongoing struggle against relegation, which I’m sure is only a minor setback given the club’s stated aim to reach the Football League by 2022.