BARROW AFC boss Pete Wild has said that the Bluebirds will need to 'utilise all our squad' ahead of their 'really long week'.

Following their 1-0 victory against Crawley Town at Holker Street last time out, the Bluebirds now prepare to face Matty Etherington's Colchester United at the Jobserve Community in a fixture that kicks off a seven-day period that will see Barrow play three games and travel over 600 miles.

This busy week includes a mid-week league clash with Walsall at Holker Street and the Bluebirds' FA Cup second-round clash with National League South Maidstone United.

In the Bluebird's latest victory, Wild was able to turn to his bench and deploy the vast experience of players such as David Worrall and Jamie Proctor, whilst bringing on Dean Campbell and Ben Whitfield to refresh his midfield, with the Barrow boss commenting on this depth.

He said: "When you look at our bench and even look at the players who have been at home in recent weeks and have not been in the squad, we look solid.

"We look like we have got some real good options off the bench and some real good strength in depth and we can change it, we can change it in different ways, and we have got some real experience coming on to the pitch."

Ahead of this packed schedule and an initial trip to Colchester, Wild emphasised the importance of utilising his strong squad.

He said: "That is what you need, we have got a really long week, a really long week with some really tough games and we are going to need all our squad and make sure that we utilise all our squad and not just keep throwing the same names out."