Manager Mark Cooper says there is no point moaning about the injury and illness issues which leave his Barrow squad down to the bare bones.

Cooper is without two more players as AFC head to south London to take on Sutton United this weekend.

Patrick Brough serves a one-match ban after picking up five bookings, while Cooper said Connor Brown will miss out with a chest infection.

He is monitoring the return of Mark Ellis and Jordan Stevens, while others such as Jamie Devitt and Dimitri Sea remain out.

Cooper said: “It’s a challenging time for everyone. We can sit, moan, gripe, but it’s not going to do us any good.

“We have to get on with it. The players on the whole have been really, really good.

“They put up with a lot, they get nothing really; they just get on with it and are a good bunch.

“I want to try and help them and give them the best way forward to try and get some results.”

Cooper said that, in general, Barrow must learn the lessons from how this season has unfolded, with training ground issues leaving players under-prepared and more susceptible to injury.

“We’ve got to make sure that never happens again – you should never chase your tail and have to put things right halfway through the season,” he said. This weekend’s game comes amid a marathon run of long away trips, after Tuesday’s trip to Forest Green and with a long journey to Ipswich for next weekend’s FA Cup second round tie to come.

Cooper said he would give his side the best preparation possible in the circumstances. “The club are trying to find somewhere down south for us to train [today] and prepare for the Sutton game,” he said.

“We’ll have a count up and see who we can get out there.”