Barrow boss David Dunn paid tribute to his players for their resilience after a 4-2 league win against Mansfield Town – their first since their return to the Football League.

The Bluebirds moved up to 18th in League Two after their win at Field Mill and Dunn highlighted how impressive his side were.

He said: ”I thought we were excellent.

“We took off exactly where we left off against Walsall, so it was really pleasing that everything is coming together.

“A little bit of me feels that we could have scored a few more goals and won by a bigger margin.

“But, obviously, the flip side is that we have got to polish up a little bit and tidy up on the goals that we did concede.

“The good thing for us is that we have got that first win.”

After ending the long wait for a Football League win which stretched back to 1972, Dunn is now looking to build on their first victory.

“The monkey is off our back now I suppose,” he said. “I feel it was a long time coming and thought we deserved to win much sooner than that. Everyone was so desperate to win that game.

“But, obviously, I am very pleased we have got that first win, which should settle everyone down now, not just the players and us, but everybody involved in the club.”

Goals from Bradley Barry, Patrick Brough, Josh Kay and Harrison Biggins ensured Dunn’s squad travelled back to Cumbria with all three points.

Barry and Brough had put the Bluebirds 2-0 up in the first half, before Mansfield’s James Perch replied for the hosts.

However, two goals from Kay and Biggins after Mansfield’s Aaron O’Driscoll was sent off set the side on their way, with Dunn praising his team’s passing.

He said:” I thought we were fantastic in the way that we passed the ball.

“The way we played through the thirds was really good, which is what we work on a lot.

“There were some really good individual performances out there.”

In particular, Dunn singled out keeper Joel Dixon for his display. After making an error for Mansfield’s first goal, Dunn believed Dixon bounced back brilliantly.

He said: "I was really pleased with Joel Dixon.

“He obviously makes a little error, but then the way he showed the resilience to just crack on was fantastic.

“A lot of goalkeepers would cave in, but he had the courage to keep going.

“He made an unbelievable save, arguably to keep the momentum with us in the second half.

“It was a hell of a save.”