David Dunn says it must be business as usual on the pitch at Barrow AFC as the Bluebirds face up to a further period without fans.

Dunn’s side are back in action against Colchester this afternoon as they seek their first win of the League Two campaign.

It comes at the end of a week when the lower-league game suffered the hammer blow of being deprived of supporters for months because of the Government’s latest actions to try and combat Covid-19.

Barrow have sought to reassure fans about the club’s ability to cope with the crisis – while boss Dunn said it is essential he and his players keep their sights fixed on the job in hand.

“That’s all we can do,” he said.

“We’ve just got to focus and prepare ourselves the best we can with the games and keep going.

“We’ve just got to concentrate on the football and, as for everything else off the pitch, hopefully that can get back to normal as soon as.

“On the pitch, we just need to concentrate on trying to get three points.”

Dunn is boosted by Scott Quigley’s return from suspension today and the AFC boss admitted the availability of last season’s top scorer has provided a lift as they try to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat at Newport.

“No question about it,” he said. “Quigs’s goals last year were instrumental in winning games. We’ve got him back now and it’s a big boost for everyone in the club. I’m looking forward to him getting back involved.”

The AFC boss, meanwhile, sounded a positive note on the Bluebirds’ injury list. Matty Platt, Patrick Brough and Bobby Burns have been among the recent absentees.

Dunn said: “There’s some good news, so hopefully we’ll have a couple back in and around it. Everyone’s coming back sooner than we expected, so hopefully we can have some bodies back in real soon.”

Despite the latest financial challenges posed by the pandemic, Dunn said Barrow remain active in the market and he is hoping to bring in “a couple” of new faces early next week.

“I’ve not made a big secret that we’re actively looking to get a centre-forward in, who can come in and really help us,” he said.

“A lot of clubs are trying to do the same, and there’s a lot of variables on getting the right one. I don’t just want to pluck one out of the air; I want to know what he’s about, I want to have watched him, I want to know the player, his character, his mentality.”

They today face a Colchester side yet to concede in the League Two season but Dunn believes Barrow can pose a threat to the Essex outfit. “They’ve had a good start and got a great win against Bolton last week – I watched the game and it will be a good challenge for us, as will the majority of games this year,” he said.

“It’s a new league, as I keep saying, we’re a young team and a new team, but we’ve got a lot of energy, so if we’re at it we’re more than capable of holding our own in this league, no problem.

“Let’s be honest, we could or should be sat here with four points now instead of one. But we’re not, that’s the fact of it, and that’s something we’ve got to address.

“The higher up the pyramid you go, you’ll get punished [for mistakes]. To concede the goal early in the second half at Newport was disappointing but we have to dust ourselves down.

“We’ve got to be really tough to beat. To be honest, I feel like the teams we’ve played so far, even Derby, really struggled to break us down. We can’t go away from that.”