Barrow manager Paul Cox has said that he wants to bring in players who are 'nasty and horrible' for the new National League season.

The Bluebirds could only muster a seventh-place finish in the fifth tier last term, and Cook is adamant that his players need to have more of a fighting spirit if they are to push for promotion this season.

"We are lacking something at the minute," he told The Mail. "We are lacking a little bit of leadership on the pitch, we're lacking a kind of mind-set that has a little bit of nastiness and horribleness. We're missing that.

"I have a lovely group of players at the minute who are honest and genuine, but to win titles, sometimes you need somebody who is a little bit dishonest, somebody who bites and scratches, somebody that upsets people and is not scared to.

"Usually those people end up wearing an arm-band with the captain's name on it. These are the type of players I think we are missing at the minute – the know-how, the nastiness, the experience. They're the ones I am now looking to bring into the squad."

Barrow's season begins away at Dagenham & Redbridge - playoff losers last season - on Saturday afternoon.