Barrow AFC manager Ian Evatt was not satisfied by some elements of his much-changed line-up's performance in their 2-0 victory over Atherton Collieries in the FA Trophy on Tuesday night.

Just as in the original tie against the Northern Premier League side, Evatt gave most of his frontline players a rest in the replay at Holker Street, as he made nine changes to the team that blew Ebbsfleet United away last Saturday.

The team that was picked was nothing like as fluent as the settled side that has opened up a three-point gap at the top of the National League and they had to survive a few scares along the way against opponents who pushed them throughout.

Nonetheless, the Bluebirds eventually managed to avoid the banana skin and now have a second round tie at home to FC United of Manchester to look forward to on Saturday.

When asked if he'd seen enough from the players he brought in, Evatt said: "I'm a bit hoarse, so that probably tells you a lot. I saw some good bits, some bad.

"Sometimes it's difficult when the players aren't used to playing together - yes, they train together, but they'd never played as an 11 together, never had those partnerships.

"It just looked a bit disjointed at times. There were some good patterns, some good play, but lots of bad decisions as well. There's stuff to improve, stuff to work on.

"We got the job done, that's the main thing and again I thought Atherton gave us a good game. I thought they were excellent again on the night and they gave it their all.

"The players may think I'm harsh, but I strive for perfection - I might never get it, but I'm not doing my job properly if I'm not teaching them the right things and not telling them where they're going wrong.

"I have to tell them when it's not acceptable and there were times tonight where it wasn't acceptable. They have been told and it's about how they respond now."

Evatt was, however, enthused by the late impact of substitutes Kane Fitch, Callum Fawcett and Tom Dawson, who all made their senior debuts for Barrow, having impressed for the club's reserve team this season.

"I thought the three boys that came on were excellent," Evatt said. "I must say that Craig [Rutherford] spends a lot of time with me and Peter [Atherton] and we try and help Craig.

"We're not just building this club to get into the Football League with the first team, we want to leave a legacy, I want to leave a legacy at this football club, where we have a pattern and a style of play that goes through the age groups."