Barrow's Sporting Director, Iain Wood, has penned the following letter to Bluebirds fans:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to reach out and thank all of you for making my family and I feel so welcome at the Club. As you can imagine, there’s always some trepidation when starting a new job at a new Club, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the universal warm welcome and enthusiasm of all concerned with Barrow: from the board to the fans.
This is a special Club and one we already feel proud to be associated with.
We saw this first season as one of transition; we had to make some difficult player decisions over the summer, but we feel we are in great shape now with a nice balance between experience and youthful talent underpinned by good personalities. The new training facility has turned out well. It provides a quality facility that we can develop over time and also provides a comfortable environment for the players to hangout for meals and recovery.
Obviously, having a decent start to the season also helps. We are very encouraged at the positivity and passion being shown by the players, management team and everyone else associated with Barrow. This alignment is so important and the positive impact is there for us all to see.
An example of this is the tremendous away support. You sing from the first minute to the last, regardless of numbers or the scoreline, and it really makes a difference to the players out on the pitch.
The Walsall game was another example of this amazing support. What a great attendance for a Tuesday game and what a difference you all made. If you ever wonder about how important these games are just look back at the pure joy from Tyrell and Sam on scoring their first EFL goals. Fantastic to see and let’s see many more!
There are lots of cliches about home crowds being the 12th man etc, but that second half atmosphere rivals anything I’ve ever experienced at a football ground. You provided a massive lift to the players and enabled them to maintain their high pressing game right up to the final whistle. If anything, the noise level went higher when Walsall scored and that positive energy is priceless.
It’s still early in the season, but the signs are encouraging. Please keep supporting the team like you have done so far, and encourage others who have missed these games to come along and help add to that special atmosphere.
Let’s get the ground rocking like it was on Tuesday and against Bradford. I can assure you the other teams aren’t looking forward to saying hello!
Let’s start on Saturday with Harrogate Town. They’re a good side and had a good win this midweek as well, but we are at home, so let’s make that count!
Once again many thanks for the wonderful welcome and support, it means so much.
Take care,
Iain.