David Dunn admits he can’t wait to be back on the training ground today as the Barrow AFC boss returns from his Covid-enforced absence.

The Bluebirds manager will make his first appearance at the new training ground at Egerton after a period of self-isolation following his positive coronavirus test.

Dunn says he is feeling better after a “rough” spell with the virus which forced him to miss the last two games.

He is itching to be back with the AFC players as they prepare for tomorrow’s visit of Walsall – the Bluebirds’ latest attempt to register their first League Two win.

“I’m looking forward to being back,” Dunn told The Mail. “Watching the team from afar…it’s hard work.

“Last week I was really rough, quite poorly, really, fatigued and really tired. It felt like a really bad flu or cold.

“I’ve got my taste and smell back and I’m feeling better. I can’t wait to be at our new training ground, because I haven’t even been there yet, and I can’t wait for Saturday.”

Dunn had to watch from afar as Barrow suffered a 1-0 defeat at Harrogate last weekend before a late Bolton equaliser denied them that elusive win in Tuesday’s dramatic 3-3 draw.

After Sam Hird and Craig Rutherford led the Bluebirds in Yorkshire, and Josh Lillis took the helm on Tuesday, Dunn and No2 Rob Kelly – who has also been self-isolating – will be back to try and steer the injury-hit Bluebirds to victory against Walsall.

The manager said: “We’re all striving to get that elusive win to start us off. I’m really positive and confident that when we do, we can go on and get some really good results. We just need to get this monkey off our back.

“Being away for this period has given me some really good thinking time, on how we can get better. We always go on about the players getting better, but I want to get better as well.

“We’ve had some really good performances where we’ve taken the lead and not quite managed to hold onto it. You can look at the Stevenage game, the Leyton Orient game, and Bolton the other night, which was a real disappointment, but the positives are that we scored three good goals.

“If we’re nit-picking, when the board goes up for four mins added time, the last thing you expect your team to do is concede when there’s five minutes gone. Is there any point in putting the board up when you’re not going to play four minutes?

“Looking at it coldly, because I’m not getting as emotionally involved when I’m not at the side of the pitch, those little things are costing us at the minute.

“But I’m more than confident that when we tie these little things up we’ll be just fine.”

Dunn is monitoring the Bluebirds’ casualty list ahead of the Saddlers’ visit tomorrow, with Lewis Hardcastle again set to miss out, and Scott Quigley, Kgosi Ntlhe and Tom Beadling being assessed.

Chris Taylor also came off at half-time against Bolton through sickness while recent signing Courtney Baker-Richardson has undergone hip surgery, and Dunn added: “It seems to me at the minute we’re getting hit by a load of different things, even myself and Rob having 10 days away from being around the team…it’s difficult.

“But we’ve got to bounce back, and hopefully this will be our bad luck – we can get it out of the way early doors and we can get some good luck going forward.

“With the injuries, you can go through it with a fine toothcomb. There’s been freak injuries, and a couple of recurring injuries which we can probably get a little bit better at I think.

“Once a player hits all the targets, works with the physios for a week-10 days and nothing’s happening, you expect them to come back in and be fine, but for whatever reason it hasn’t always been the case.

“The change of [training] surfaces is a hindrance which hopefully now will go. We just need to settle down, and I’ve got loads of confidence in the group of players to go on a really good run at some point.”